Latest Australia Headlines
All the headlines from our Australia Topic Page, ordered by recency.
Ratings Recap: PMI Australia, Feuersozietaet, Avalon Re, Ste. General de Réassurance
Apr 14 2008 // Standard & Poor’s Ratings Services has lowered its insurer financial strength rating on the Australian mortgage insurer PMI Mortgage Insurance Ltd. (PMI Australia) by one notch to ‘AA-‘ from...
Australia’s Rudd Sees Urgent Need for WTO Doha Deal
Apr 3 2008 // Australian Prime Minister Kevin Rudd said on Wednesday that a deal at the World Trade Organization’s (WTO) long-delayed Doha round of trade talks was urgent and possible. “This Doha round is do-able …...
QBE Net Profits up 30% to US$1.786 Billion
Feb 26 2008 // Australia’s QBE Insurance Group announced that operating profit after tax for the year ended 31 December 2007 was up 30 percent to a record A$1.925 billion ($US1.786 billion). Other key highlights for the year were...
S&P Takes Rating Actions -‘Mostly Negative’- on U.S. Mortgage Insurers
Feb 15 2008 // Standard & Poor’s Ratings Services has issued a blanket bulletin outlining the rating actions, which it notes are “mostly unfavorable,” on several U.S. mortgage insurers and their core and dependent...
Pakistan Cricket Board Insurance to Cover Possible Australia Pullout
Jan 23 2008 // The Pakistan Cricket Board has taken out insurance cover to meet possible financial losses should Australia pull out of its scheduled tour starting March due to security fears. “We have insured the series with a...
Australia Faces Fires, Floods After Hot Summer
Jan 8 2008 // Australians battled both fires and some of the worst flooding in decades Monday that stranded residents in several communities after days of intense summer heat and storms. Bureau of Meteorology hydrologist Gordon McKay...
Ratings Roundup: Insurance Australia Group, Bank of China
Dec 21 2007 // Standard & Poor’s Ratings Services has revised its ratings outlook on the counterparty and insurer financial strength ratings on Insurance Australia’s group of companies to negative from stable. S&P...
Ratings Roundup: TokioMarine/Nichido, Zurich Australia, ACE
Dec 18 2007 // Standard & Poor’s Ratings Services has indicated that there will be “no impact on its ratings on Tokio Marine & Nichido Fire Insurance Co. Ltd. (AA/Stable/A-1+) following the company’s...
Insurance Australia Group Claims Report on Sydney Storms
Dec 13 2007 // Insurance Australia Group Limited (IAG) has issued a bulletin noting that as of 11:00 a.m. today, “approximately 13,000 claims had been received as a result of the storm that hit Sydney last Sunday. Further lodgments...
Ratings Recap: Medical Ins. (Australia), Swiss Re Europe, Aseguradora Mundial
Nov 6 2007 // Standard & Poor’s Ratings Services has assigned its ‘BBB+’ rating on Medical Insurance Australia Pty Ltd., a national medical indemnity insurer and the largest in South Australia, with a stable...
Insurance Australia Group Lowers Fiscal Year 2008 Growth Targets
Oct 29 2007 // Insurance Australia Group has revised its guidance for the fiscal year 2008 (IAG’s fiscal year runs from July 1 to June 30). The insurer said it now expects gross written premiums (GWP) to grow between 7 and 9...
Ratings Recap: Northbridge, Fondiaria, MGIC, Trust International, First Capital, St.Paul/Travelers (UK)
Oct 19 2007 // Standard & Poor’s Ratings Services has placed its ‘BBB’ counterparty credit and financial strength ratings on Northbridge Financial Corp.’s operating companies–Commonwealth Insurance Co.,...
Guy Carp Releases Impact Study on Australian Storm
Oct 12 2007 // Guy Carpenter & Company announced that its Instrat(R) unit has published a report on the impact of the powerful East Coast Low (ECL) pressure system that hit New South Wales in Australia between June 7-10, 2007. The...
Greenhouse Gas Emissions Already Exceed ‘Worst-case’ Scenario
Oct 10 2007 // Strong worldwide economic growth has accelerated the level of greenhouse gas emissions in the atmosphere to a dangerous threshold scientists had not expected for another decade, according to a leading Australian climate...
People and Places
Oct 8 2007 // Louisiana Workers’ Compensation Corporation (LWCC) promoted Jamie Bourg to claims manager for the company’s large accounts team. Bourg will manage and direct the claims department, including claims handling and...
People and Places
Oct 8 2007 // The National Association of Mutual Insurance Cos.(NAMIC) named SECURA Insurance President and CEO John Bykowski as the chairman of its board of directors during the association’s annual convention Sept. 16-19 at...
Business Moves
Oct 8 2007 // The Hanover, Professionals Direct The Hanover Insurance Group, Inc. reports it has completed the previously announced acquisition of Professionals Direct, Inc. for $23.2 million. Professionals Direct’s companies...
People
Oct 8 2007 // Louisiana Workers’ Compensation Corporation (LWCC) promoted Jamie Bourg to claims manager for the company’s large accounts team. Bourg will manage and direct the claims department, including claims handling and...
U.S. Risk Expands Brokerage Operations in Australia
Oct 3 2007 // Dallas, Texas-based U.S. Risk Insurance Group Inc., the seventh largest managing general agency and surplus lines wholesaler in the nation, expanded its operations by opening a brokerage operation in Sydney, Australia. The...
Suncorp FY Net up 16.2% to $877 Million; Promina ‘on Track’
Aug 28 2007 // Australian banking and insurance group Suncorp-Metway reported a 16.2 percent increase in net profit after tax to a record A$1.064 billion (US$877 million), which includes 15 weeks’ contribution from Promina, the...
