Latest Australia Headlines
All the headlines from our Australia Topic Page, ordered by recency.
Australia’s Scandal-Ridden CBA Overhauls Business, Eyes Sale of Insurance Arm
Jun 25 2018 // Commonwealth Bank of Australia said it would hive off its wealth management and mortgage broking businesses, and explore whether to divest its general insurance arm, as it narrows its focus down to traditional...
GFG Alliance Eyes Australia Insurance, Banking for Expansion
May 17 2018 // Tycoon Sanjeev Gupta’s GFG Alliance is planning an expansion of its financial services business outside of Europe, targeting opportunities to provide lending and insurance to mid-sized businesses. “All...
Australia Looks to Heavy Fines to Punish Financial Services Wrongdoing
Apr 23 2018 // Australia’s competition watchdog on Monday supported massive increases in financial penalties for companies caught doing the wrong thing, after widespread misconduct was exposed by an ongoing inquiry into the...
Tokio Marine Kiln Forms Strategic Agreement with Australian Insurtech Firm Evari
Apr 20 2018 // Tokio Marine Kiln (TMK), the specialist and corporate insurance business, announced it has formed a strategic agreement with Australian insurtech firm Evari. The agreement will allow TMK to access Evari’s digital...
Insurance Australia Group Plans to Sell Troubled SE Asian Businesses: Sources
Apr 20 2018 // Insurance Australia Group is set to sell its four Southeast Asian businesses in deals that could be valued at about $500 million, under a review of its Asian operations, three people with knowledge of the matter said. IAG,...
QBE’s Revamped Executive Team Includes Singh as CFO, Swiss Re’s Grewal as CRO
Apr 12 2018 // QBE Insurance Group Ltd. announced a reshaping of the senior management team with the appointments of Inder Singh as group chief financial officer, replacing Michael Ford who is leaving QBE; Peter Grewal as group chief...
PERILS Issues Updated Industry Exposure Database for Australia, Europe & Turkey
Apr 11 2018 // PERILS AG, the independent Zurich-based company that provides industry-wide catastrophe insurance data, has released a 2018 update of its Industry Exposure Database (IED). The updated country IEDs have again been produced...
Australia Begins Investigation into Facebook over Possible Breach of Data Laws
Apr 5 2018 // Australia on Thursday said it had begun an investigation to decide whether social media giant Facebook Inc breached its privacy laws, after the company confirmed data from 300,000 Australian users may have been used...
Final Loss Estimate for Australia’s Cyclone Debbie Is A$1.7B (US$1.3B): PERILS
Mar 28 2018 // The final property insurance loss estimate for Australia’s Tropical Cyclone Debbie is A$1.7 billion (US$1.3 billion), according to PERILS, the independent Zurich-based organization that provides industry-wide...
BHSI Opens Perth Office; Chubb’s Prindiville & Shepard Named P/C Underwriters
Mar 26 2018 // Berkshire Hathaway Specialty Insurance (BHSI) announced it has opened an office in Perth, Western Australia, naming Anthony Prindiville to lead its casualty underwriting and Mark Shepard to lead property underwriting...
Wildfires in Southeast Australia Destroy More Than 70 Homes, Kill Livestock
Mar 19 2018 // More than 70 homes were destroyed as bushfires swept through the seaside town of Tathra in southeastern Australia at the weekend. Soaring temperatures and wind gusts fanned the fires about 500 kilometers (310 miles) south...
Equifax Sued by Australia’s Competition Regulator for Allegedly Misleading Consumers
Mar 16 2018 // Australia’s competition regulator said on Friday it was suing credit reporting company Equifax Pty Ltd, owned by U.S.-based Equifax Inc, alleging it misled consumers and used unfair tactics with people in financial...
Australia Orders Recall of 2.3M Vehicles with Takata Air Bags
Feb 28 2018 // Australia has ordered the recall of 2.3 million vehicles fitted with Takata Corp air bags that have been linked to deaths worldwide, in the country’s biggest compulsory product recall. The manufacturers of the...
XL Catlin Launches Protect & Assist in Australia
Feb 27 2018 // XL Catlin has launched Protect and Assist, an accident and health insurance solution designed to help Australian businesses protect their people and meet their duty of care in the face of emerging risks and heightened...
XL Catlin Promotes Powell to Chief Underwriting Officer for International Financial Lines
Feb 13 2018 // XL Catlin’s insurance operations announced that Tim Powell has been promoted to chief underwriting officer for international financial lines (IFL), effective March 1. Powell will be responsible for the underwriting...
QBE Expects US$1.2B Loss in 2017 from ‘Unprecedented’ Natural Catastrophes
Jan 24 2018 // QBE announced to the market this week that it expects a US$1.2 billion after-tax loss in 2017 on “unprecedented” natural catastrophe claims. “This has been a challenging year for QBE, reflecting an...
Search for Missing Malaysia Airlines Flight 370 Resumes – 4 Years After Disappearance
Jan 9 2018 // Malaysia’s government said Saturday that it has approved a new attempt by a private company to find the wreckage of Malaysia Airlines Flight 370, nearly four years after its disappearance sparked one of...
Allianz’ Property Unit Plans to Double Asian Investments in Next 3 Years
Jan 4 2018 // Allianz SE’s property unit plans to double investments in Asia over three years as the German firm is drawing in more money from its insurance operations in the region. Property investments may swell to 3.75 billion...
QBE Insurance Settles Shareholder Class Action in Australia for US$103.2M
Dec 29 2017 // QBE Insurance Group Ltd. has agreed to pay A$132.5 million (US$103.2 million) to settle a shareholder class action in Australia. The class action was commenced by Money Max Interest Pty Ltd on Sept. 9, 2015 in the Federal...
Chubb Names French & Hill to Asia-Pacific Leadership Positions
Dec 14 2017 // Chubb announced two leadership appointments in the company’s Asia Pacific business. John French, currently country president for Australia and New Zealand, has been appointed to the position of senior vice president,...
