Latest Australia Headlines
All the headlines from our Australia Topic Page, ordered by recency.
QBE Jumps on Premiums, North American Unit Outlook: Sydney Mover
Feb 25 2014 // QBE Insurance Group Ltd., Australia’s second-largest insurer by market value, climbed to its highest level in more than two months on plans to increase premium rates and bring its North American unit back to profit...
Ratings Roundup: AIG Asia-Pacific, Fuji Fire/AIU
Feb 21 2014 // A.M. Best has affirmed the financial strength rating of ‘A’ (Excellent) and issuer credit ratings (ICR) of “a” of Singapore-based AIG Asia Pacific Insurance Pte. Ltd. (AIG APAC) and its fully-owned...
El Nino Threatens to Return; May Hit Global Food Production
Feb 21 2014 // The El Nino weather pattern, which can trigger drought in some parts of the world while causing flooding in others, is increasingly likely to return this year, hitting production of key foods such as rice, wheat and...
Global 2013 Cat Losses at $40 Billion Were ‘Below Average’ – Guy Carpenter
Feb 13 2014 // Guy Carpenter & Company, LLC, the leading global risk and reinsurance specialist and member of Marsh & McLennan Companies, 2013 Catastrophe Review concludes that “natural catastrophes and man-made disasters...
Australia Sees Increased Risks from El Nino Weather Pattern
Feb 11 2014 // Australian climate models indicate an increased chance of an El Nino weather pattern emerging later this year, the country’s weather bureau said on Tuesday, raising the risk of drought and floods in some parts of the...
Snowy, Cold January Was Deadly and Costly: Aon
Feb 6 2014 // The various winter storms that brought snow and bitter cold to the United States in January took more than 50 lives and are expected to result in direct economic losses of about $3.5 billion and insured losses of more than...
Ironshore’s Australian Sub to Buy Specialist Insurer Assetinsure
Feb 4 2014 // Bermuda-based Ironshore Inc. announced that its Australian subsidiary has entered into an agreement to purchase all of the shares of Assetinsure Holdings Pty Ltd, the parent company of Assetinsure Pty Ltd (collectively...
El Nino May Return as Pacific Ocean Shows Signs of Warming
Jan 30 2014 // An El Nino weather pattern, which can parch Australia and parts of Asia while bringing rains to South America, may occur in the coming months as the Pacific Ocean warms, according to Australia’s Bureau of...
IAG Updates FY14 Guidance: GWP Down, Margins Up
Jan 23 2014 // Insurance Australia Group Limited (IAG) announced an update to its guidance for the financial year ending 30 June 2014 (FY14) following a review of expected performance in the first half of the year. IAG said it “has...
Magnitude 6.2 Quake Strikes New Zealand’s North Island: AIR Analysis
Jan 21 2014 // Catastrophe modeling firm AIR Worldwide, reported: “At 9:52 p.m. Eastern Time, on January 19 (3:52 p.m., local time, January 20), a magnitude 6.2 earthquake struck New Zealand’s North Island. The epicenter was...
Cooper Gay Australia Creates Wholesale Division; Hyde Named Production Head
Jan 16 2014 // Cooper Gay (Australia) Pte Ltd, a reinsurance intermediary, has launched a new wholesale division for the Australian insurance market. The new wholesale unit of Cooper Gay Swett & Crawford Group (CGSC), the independent...
Aon Benfield Securities Places $250 Million Cat Bond for QBE’s VenTerra Re
Jan 7 2014 // Aon Benfield Securities, the investment banking division of global reinsurance intermediary and capital advisor Aon Benfield, announced that it has successfully underwritten and placed a $250 million catastrophe bond...
Australia Swelters from Record Heat Wave; Bushfire Warnings Issued
Jan 3 2014 // A searing heat wave is baking central and northern Australia, piling more misery on drought-hit cattle farmers who have been slaughtering livestock as Australia sweltered through the hottest year on record in...
Tropical Cyclone Christine Hits Australia’s Pilbara Coast: AIR Worldwide Analysis
Jan 2 2014 // Catastrophe modeling firm AIR Worldwide reports: “Severe Tropical Cyclone Christine made landfall at approximately 1200 UTC on December 30 between Whim Creek and Roebourne. Maximum sustained wind speeds were 157 km/h...
Strengthening Cyclone Sets Path for Australia’s Iron Ore Mines
Dec 30 2013 // A tropical cyclone intensifying off northwestern Australia was on course to sweep across some of the world’s largest iron ore mines after causing giant shipping ports to close. Iron ore prices rose on Monday as...
IAG to Buy Wesfarmers Insurance Business for A$1.85 Billion
Dec 16 2013 // Insurance Australia Group Ltd. agreed to buy Wesfarmers Ltd.’s insurance underwriting businesses in Australia and New Zealand for A$1.85 billion [US$1.653 billion] to become the largest insurer in...
QBE Bond Risk Surges as U.S. Expansion Sours: Australia Credit Risk
Dec 13 2013 // Bond risk on QBE Insurance Group Ltd. halved in the first 11 months of the year before surging this month as the company said it would lose money. Credit-default swaps on QBE have climbed 41 basis points since Nov. 30 to...
TPP Trade Pact Misses Deadline as More Talks Planned for January
Dec 10 2013 // Ministers negotiating the 12-nation Trans-Pacific Partnership trade pact said today they would miss a year-end deadline to complete the deal. “We identified potential landing zones for the majority of key outstanding...
IAG Said to Consider Bidding for Wesfarmers Insurance Unit
Dec 6 2013 // Insurance Australia Group Ltd., the nation’s biggest car and home insurer, is studying a bid for Wesfarmers Ltd.’s insurance unit, according to three people with knowledge of the matter. IAG is in talks with...
Willis Places Innovative Australian Weather Transaction for Roy Hill
Dec 3 2013 // Willis Group Holdings announced the placement of “an innovative derivative-based risk transfer solution to protect Roy Hill Holdings Pty Ltd, an emerging global mining, rail and port venture, against the threat of...
