Latest Australia Headlines
All the headlines from our Australia Topic Page, ordered by recency.
Australia’s QBE Insurance Shares Halted; Balboa Concerns Cited
Jan 12 2012 // Shares in QBE Insurance Group, Australia’s top insurer, were placed in a trading halt on Thursday ahead of the release of its preliminary 2011 results and amid concerns about an investigation into over-charging...
Cyclone Heidi Shuts Australian Iron Ore Ports, Oil Fields
Jan 11 2012 // A tropical cyclone bearing down on Western Australia forced the closure of some of the world’s largest iron ore ports and several offshore oil fields on Wednesday, the first major series of shutdowns in what is...
AXIS Appoints Smith CEO, Country Manager of Australian Operations
Jan 6 2012 // Bermuda-based AXIS Capital Holdings Limited announced that it has appointed David Smith as CEO and Country Manager of Australian Operations. He is based in Sydney and reports to Mark Gregory, CEO International Division,...
Australia’s Suncorp Updates Melbourne Storm, NZ Quake Loss Estimates
Jan 6 2012 // Australia’s Suncorp Group Limited’s preliminary estimates of the financial impacts of the recent Melbourne hailstorm and Christchurch earthquake are between A$200 and A$250 million [US$204.9 to US$256.1...
IAG Updates Claims Estimates for Victoria Storms, NZ Quakes
Jan 5 2012 // The Insurance Australia Group has advised that its Australia Direct and CGU businesses have, “received approximately 20,000 claims following the hailstorms and related severe weather which occurred in Victoria around...
IAG Finalizes $4.86 Billion Reinsurance Program for 2012
Jan 4 2012 // Insurance Australia Group Limited announced that it has finalized its catastrophe reinsurance program for the period commencing January 1, 2012 with up to A$4.7 billion [US$4.86 billion] in coverage, compared to A$4.1...
Guy Carpenter Analyzes 2011 Catastrophes; $108 Billion in Losses
Dec 30 2011 // Reinsurance broker Guy Carpenter has examined the past year’s natural catastrophes, which it describes as “an unusually eventful year for the (re)insurance sector.” In addition to the ongoing financial...
Melbourne Storms Declared ‘Catastrophe;’ Full Year Insured Losses = $4.5 Billion
Dec 29 2011 // A series of violent storms struck Australia’s second largest city, Melbourne on Christmas Day, causing wide spread damage to buildings and infrastructure. Insurer QBE said the country’s insurers have already...
Insurers Worry 2012 Will Top 2011 for Record Weather Disasters
Dec 28 2011 // From floods that crippled countries, to mega cyclones, huge blizzards, killer tornadoes to famine-inducing droughts, 2011 has been another record-breaker for bad weather. While it is too early to predict what 2012 will be...
Insurance Australia Group to Acquire New Zealand Insurer AMI
Dec 16 2011 // Insurance Australia Group Limited (IAG) announced it had entered into an agreement to purchase the AMI insurance business for NZ$380 million (approximately A$288 million [US$287.96 million), enhancing its position as New...
Ironshore Australia Launches M&A Product Suite
Nov 23 2011 // Ironshore Australia has established a merger and acquisition suite of products that will be available throughout the Asia Pacific region. The package will include coverage for buyers, sellers, taxes and environmental...
President Obama Insured Against Attack While in Australia
Nov 17 2011 // This coverage isn’t the U.S. health care law. When President Barack Obama visits Australia’s Northern Territory today, he will be presented with insurance coverage against attack — crocodile attack. The...
Australia Urges Breaking up Doha Round into Smaller Pacts
Nov 10 2011 // Australia wants World Trade Organization members to recognize that reaching a comprehensive deal in decade-old world trade talks has become impossible and to focus instead on a series of smaller pacts, the country’s...
Ironshore Australia Launches Affirmative Defense Cost
Nov 1 2011 // Ironshore Australia has enhanced its professional liability policies for defense cost coverage in response to the recent decision of the High Court of New Zealand. Ironshore Australia insurance solutions are tailored to...
Best Affirms QBE and Subs Ratings; Outlook Stable
Oct 12 2011 // A.M. Best Europe – Rating Services Limited has affirmed the financial strength ratings (FSR) of ‘A’ (Excellent) and the issuer credit ratings (ICR) of “a+” of UK-based QBE Insurance (Europe)...
N.Y.-based U.S. RE Hires Reinsurance Veteran Polkinghorne
Oct 5 2011 // Global reinsurance broker U.S. RE Corp. has appointed reinsurance veteran Scott Polkinghorne as senior vice president. He will be based at the company’s headquarters in Pearl River, N.Y. Polkinghorne is a reinsurance...
Sportscover: Providing Coverage for Sports and Leisure around the World
Oct 3 2011 // Sports and leisure activities are one of the most ubiquitous pass times the world over. Whether you participate, or just watch, virtually no one is far away from some form of sporting activity. It’s why sports, as a...
Aon Benfield: Reinsurers Expected to Pay 2/3 of Australia, NZ Cat Losses
Sep 29 2011 // Aon Benfield, the global reinsurance intermediary and capital advisor of Aon Corp, has issued a bulletin indicating that Australian and New Zealand insurers, who were hit with “catastrophic events” in 2010 and...
Aon Benfield Conference Underlines ‘Complexity’ of Catastrophic Events
Sep 22 2011 // Aon Benfield, the global reinsurance intermediary and capital advisor of Aon Corp., will urge insureds and insurers to “look at the bigger picture as cat events become more complex,” at its 12th Hazards...
Profits Soar at Australia’s IAG, but Outlook Hits Shares
Aug 25 2011 // Insurance Australia Group, Australia’s top home and car insurer, reported a more than two-fold jump in annual net profit on Thursday but its outlook knocked the shares lower. IAG forecast profit margins of 10-12...
