Latest Australia Headlines
All the headlines from our Australia Topic Page, ordered by recency.
Australia Wildfire Insurance Losses Double to A$53 Million ($38 Million)
Dec 29 2015 // Losses from wildfires that destroyed more than 100 homes along a popular tourist stretch in southeastern Australia more than doubled in two days to A$53 million ($38 million) and are expected to climb further, the...
Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. Acquires Australia’s Strathearn Insurance Brokers
Dec 28 2015 // Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. has acquired 100 percent of the capital stock of Strathearn Insurance Group Pty Ltd., headquartered in Perth, Australia. Terms of the transaction were not disclosed. Founded in 1993,...
Insurance Council of Australia Declares Sydney Storms a Catastrophe
Dec 17 2015 // The Insurance Council of Australia (ICA) has declared a catastrophe after storms struck New South Wales, in particular Sydney’s eastern and southern suburbs. The ICA’s bulletin notes that the “storms...
Australia’s Suncorp Slumps Most Since 2009 on Insurance Margins Warning
Dec 14 2015 // Suncorp Group Ltd., Australia’s largest insurer by market value, plunged the most since 2009 after saying margins in its general insurance business will be hit by storm claims and increased costs due to a weaker...
Investors Assess El Niño Effect on Businesses from Bug Killers to Insurers
Dec 10 2015 // As the El Niño weather phenomenon makes the U.S. Northeast warmer, the Midwest drier, and the South and the West wetter this winter, Eric Marshall, portfolio manager of the $2 billion Hodges Small Cap fund, is not one of...
Allied World Enhances Coverage for UK, Asia and Australia Healthcare Organizations
Dec 9 2015 // Allied World Global Markets has introduced enhanced coverage options for hospitals and other healthcare organizations in the UK, Asia and Australia. “The healthcare landscape is becoming increasingly complex,”...
India Floods Top Aon Benfield/Impact Forecasting’s November Cat Recap
Dec 8 2015 // Impact Forecasting, Aon Benfield’s catastrophe model development team, has issued the latest edition of its monthly Global Catastrophe Recap report, which evaluates the impact of natural disaster events that occurred...
ACE Makes Future Leadership Appointments for APAC Region
Nov 23 2015 // ACE Ltd. announced key leaders it intends to appoint for the Asia Pacific region of the new Chubb Group’s Overseas General Insurance division, which includes Australia, China, Hong Kong, Indonesia, Korea, Macao,...
Beazley Offers ‘Weather Guard’ in Australia for Weather-Related Revenue Losses
Nov 18 2015 // Specialist insurer Beazley launched in Australia “Weather Guard,” an insurance policy to protect Australian businesses from weather-related revenue shortfalls. Weather Guard covers weather-related perils that...
Talbot Australia Appoints Crisis Management Underwriting Team
Oct 29 2015 // Talbot Underwriting Australia, the Sydney-based branch of Talbot Risk Services Pte Ltd., has established a crisis management practice with the appointment of two leading underwriters to drive growth in specialty lines in...
Berkshire Hathaway Expands in Australia/NZ with Marine, Transport, Logistics
Oct 27 2015 // Berkshire Hathaway Specialty Insurance Company (BHSI) has begun underwriting Marine, Transport & Logistics Liability Insurance in Australia and New Zealand. It has also appointed Barton Phillips, Head of Transport and...
Why Australia’s IAG Decided to Halt China Expansion Plans
Oct 16 2015 // When Insurance Australia Group, the country’s largest general insurer, announced ambitious plans in June to ramp up its business in Mainland China, several institutional investors including Jason Kim were seriously...
Insurance Australia Scraps Plans for Further China Investment
Oct 15 2015 // Insurance Australia Group Ltd. scrapped plans for further investment in China and will instead seek growth in other Asian markets, in a sign that Australia’s hopes of boosting services exports to the world’s...
AXIS to Close Australian Retail Operations, Cut 100 Jobs
Oct 7 2015 // AXIS Capital Holdings Limited announced it will wind down its retail insurance operations in Australia and continue to operate in the market via its international wholesale insurance and global reinsurance platforms. As a...
Insurance Australia CEO Wilkins to Retire Next Month; Harmer Named Successor
Oct 7 2015 // Insurance Australia Group Ltd. Chief Executive Officer Mike Wilkins will step down next month after seven years at the helm and be replaced by Peter Harmer, the company said in a regulatory filing Wednesday. Harmer, 54,...
El Nino Expected to Peak at Year’s End
Sep 15 2015 // El Nino will peak around the end of the year as warming sea temperatures in the Pacific Ocean may exceed those seen during the record event almost two decades ago. Recent oceanic and atmospheric indicators are at levels...
BHSI Enters Australia Construction Insurance Market; Appoints Team Execs
Sep 8 2015 // Berkshire Hathaway Specialty Insurance Company (BHSI) announced it is providing comprehensive insurance and services for the construction industry in Australia and named a team of executives to oversee key areas of its...
What El Niño Means for the Coming Winter in U.S.
Sep 2 2015 // How the weather plays out in the next six months will have a lot to say about the California drought, snow in the Northeast and even the price of natural gas. A strong El Nino in the equatorial Pacific will make itself...
El Nino in Pacific Strongest Since Record Event in 1997-1998
Sep 1 2015 // The El Nino that’s changing weather across the globe is now the strongest since the record event almost two decades ago. Sea temperature anomalies in the central Pacific Ocean are now at their highest since...
QBE Appoints Lingafelter as Managing Director of Asia Pacific Region
Aug 31 2015 // QBE Insurance has appointed Mark Lingafelter as managing director of its Asia Pacific region with effect from September 1, 2015. Based in Singapore, Lingafelter will be accountable for the ongoing execution of the QBE Asia...
