Latest Australia Headlines
All the headlines from our Australia Topic Page, ordered by recency.
Climate Change Heightens Risk of Fierce Australia Wildfires: Study
Mar 5 2020 // Climate change is adding to the risk of fierce wildfires in Australia, according to a scientific study of this season’s blazes that razed an area the size of England and killed dozens of people and more than a...
Insured Property Losses for Australia’s January Hailstorms Hit A$670M: PERILS
Mar 4 2020 // The initial insured property losses for January’s hailstorms in Australia are estimated at A$670 million (US$746.7 million), according to PERILS, the independent Zurich-based organization that provides industry-wide...
Australia Regulator Seeks to Understand Financial Risks of Climate Change
Feb 24 2020 // Australia’s prudential regulator said on Monday it was looking to better understand the financial risks of climate change and would begin undertaking deeper assessments of the industry’s vulnerabilities to...
Arch Re to Buy Majority Stake in Australia’s Precision Marketing Asia Pacific
Feb 18 2020 // Arch Reinsurance, a wholly owned subsidiary of Bermuda-based Arch Capital Group Ltd., announced it has entered into an agreement in principle to obtain a majority stake in Precision Marketing Asia Pacific (PMAP), subject...
Cruise Ship Tests Coronavirus Containment as 300 Passengers Return to U.S.
Feb 17 2020 // TRAVIS AIR FORCE BASE, Calif./GENEVA, Feb 17 —More than 300 American cruise liner passengers, including 14 who tested positive for coronavirus, were flown home to military bases in the United States after two weeks under...
Australia’s Central Bank Chief Warns of Economic, Financial Effects of Climate Change
Feb 14 2020 // Australia’s central bank chief Philip Lowe warned of wide-ranging economic and financial impacts from climate change, after his drought-stricken nation suffered some of its worst wildfires ever. Speaking on a panel...
U.S. Storms, Global Floods, Bushfires Cause Economic Damages of $3B-Plus in January
Feb 11 2020 // U.S. storms, Australian bushfires and hailstorms, and floods in various countries across the globe caused more than $3 billion in economic damages during January, according to Aon’s Global Catastrophe Recap report,...
Insured Property Losses from Australia’s Townsville Floods in 2019 Hit A$1.24B: PERILS
Feb 11 2020 // PERILS, the independent Zurich-based organization that provides industry-wide catastrophe insurance data, has disclosed its fourth and final property loss estimate for the flood event which hit northern Queensland,...
Australian Insurers Declare Catastrophe for Losses from East Coast Flooding
Feb 10 2020 // The Insurance Council of Australia (ICA) has declared a catastrophe for property losses caused by storms and flooding along the east coast since February 5. Insurers said they have received 10,000 claims with the value of...
Roundup: Nations Stepping Up Scrutiny of Vessels, Trains Shipping from China
Feb 5 2020 // Vessels and trains coming from China are in focus as nations take steps to halt the spread of a deadly coronavirus that originated in the world’s second-biggest economy. Here’s a roundup of some of the latest...
UK and EU Commence Sparring Over Post-Brexit Trade Rules
Feb 3 2020 // The European Union and Britain clashed over a post-Brexit trade deal on Monday with Prime Minister Boris Johnson insisting he need not sign up to the bloc’s rules and Brussels warning of tariffs and quotas unless he...
Australia’s Capital, Canberra, Faces Worst Bushfire Threat in 17 Years
Jan 29 2020 // Canberra, Australia’s capital that’s surrounded by bush, is facing its worst wildfire threat in 17 years as a blaze sparked by a military helicopter approaches the city amid heatwave conditions. Residents in...
Australian Insurers Should Be Able to Withstand Mounting Bushfire Claims: AM Best
Jan 27 2020 // Australian insurers are well-capitalized and should be able to withstand losses from the 2019/2020 bushfire season, aided by strong capital positions and support from reinsurance partners, said AM Best. The ratings agency...
Insured Losses from Australia’s Hailstorms Hit US$352.5 Million
Jan 24 2020 // The Insurance Council of Australia (ICA) has declared a catastrophe for damage caused by hailstorms that struck eastern Melbourne, the Australian Capital Territory and parts of New South Wales on Sunday and Monday (Jan....
As Insurers Pull Back from Australia’s Bushfire Zones, They Could Become Uninhabitable
Jan 24 2020 // Australian wildfires that have razed thousands of homes and blackened an area about the size of England may also create the nation’s first climate refugees. That’s the view of Michael Mann, distinguished...
Natural Catastrophe Losses in 2019 Down 18% from Annual Average: Willis Re Report
Jan 23 2020 // Insured losses from major natural catastrophes in 2019 totaled roughly $53.0 billion, about 18% lower than the annual average since 2011, according to a report from Willis Re. This figure compares with Aon’s recently...
Bushfire-Ravaged Australians Face Choice in Era of Climate Change: Rebuild or Leave?
Jan 23 2020 // It took two years for Nigel Allison to build his mud-brick house on a sleepy southeastern tip of Australia, and just hours for it to be gutted by fire. The cherished three-bedroom home built in 1986 was one of several...
Willis Re Names Green as Head of Int’l Casualty Reinsurance, Philipsz as Australia CEO
Jan 21 2020 // Willis Re, the reinsurance broking business of Willis Towers Watson, announced the appointment of Cameron Green as head of its International Casualty Reinsurance practice as well as chair of Willis Re Australia. In this...
Australia Begins Clean Up From Bushfires with Insurance Claims Continuing to Rise
Jan 21 2020 // The New South Wales and Victorian state governments will coordinate the clean-up of insured and uninsured residential and commercial properties destroyed in the deadly wildfires. Under the plan, the states will appoint...
Severe Storms Expected to Bring Relief, New Risks to Bushfire-Stricken Australia
Jan 15 2020 // Severe storms are expected to bring some relief in the coming days from huge bushfires scorching Australia but the heavy downpours could also carry the risk of landslides and water pollution, officials said on...
