Latest Australia Headlines
All the headlines from our Australia Topic Page, ordered by recency.
S&P Reports on Australian P/C Insurers
Aug 16 2007 // A new report from Standard & Poor’s Ratings Services notes that “from October 2006 to August 2007, the Australian non-life [P/C] insurance industry underwent a deluge of activity that is changing the...
Berkley Names Robson to Head New Australian Re Operation
Aug 10 2007 // Berkley Insurance Company, a member company of W. R. Berkley Corporation, announced that it will be filing an application with the Australian Prudential Regulatory Authority (APRA) to establish a reinsurance branch in...
8 Dead, at Least 50 Injured in Australian Train/Truck Collision
Jun 6 2007 // A passenger train and truck collided at a rail crossing in southern Australia Tuesday, killing at least eight people and injuring up to 50, police said. Authorities suggested the death toll could go higher since rescuers...
Swiss Re Places A$750 Million Bonds
Apr 30 2007 // Swiss Re announced that it has successfully settled its first Australian dollar bond today with a perpetual subordinated step-up notes transaction, totaling A$750 million (US$620 million). Swiss Re noted that the...
Promina Shareholders Accept Suncorp-Metway Offer
Mar 7 2007 // Shareholders of Australian general insurer Promina Group Ltd. on Monday approved a proposed 7.4 billion Australian dollar ($5.75 billion) takeover by bank and insurance company Suncorp-Metway Ltd. Of the 8,922 shareholders...
Building Materials Firm Sued Over Australian Asbestos Compensation Plan
Feb 22 2007 // Australia’s corporate regulator has launched a civil suit against building materials giant James Hardie Industries NV for allegedly misleading investors about the cost of compensating victims of its asbestos...
Benfield Names Lazarus to Head Australia Facultative Solutions
Feb 13 2007 // Benfield, the independent reinsurance and risk intermediary, announced the appointment of Michael Lazarus as Head of the Group’s Facultative Solutions team for Australia, New Zealand and South Africa. He will be...
R&M Reports on Australian Insurers
Jan 29 2007 // Dublin-based Research and Markets announced the addition of Australian Insurance Industry: An Analysis to their offering. “This report is a detailed study about the Australian insurance industry and its various...
S&P Puts NZ’s Simply Insurance on CreditWatch
Jan 12 2007 // Standard & Poor’s Ratings Services has placed its “BB-” rating on Simply Insurance New Zealand Ltd. (SINZ) on CreditWatch with developing implications. “The CreditWatch placement follows...
Wis. General Casualty, Unigard Acquired by Australia-based QBE
Jan 5 2007 // Sun Prairie,Wis.-based insurer General Casualty, its U.S. holding company and sister company Unigard Insurance Group in Bellevue, Wash., are being acquired by Australia-based QBE Insurance Group in an agreement with...
Lee Named Assured Guaranty (UK) Asia Manager
Jan 4 2007 // Assured Guaranty Corp., a subsidiary of Assured Guaranty Ltd. announced that its London-based subsidiary, Assured Guaranty (UK) Ltd., has appointed Craig Lee as Managing Director, Asia Pacific, “responsible for...
IAG Fiscal ’06 Profit Off 13% to $655 Million
Aug 25 2006 // Insurance Australia Group Limited has released its earnings figures for the fiscal year 2006, which ended June 30. Overall profit for the year was A$862 million (US$655 million) compared to A$928 million (US$705 million)...
AXA Gives Donnet Greater Role in Japan, Asia-Pacific; Penn to Head Australia/NZ
Aug 17 2006 // France’s AXA Group has appointed Philippe Donnet to the position of AXA Group Regional CEO – based in Singapore – to oversee AXA’s principal insurance businesses in the Japan & Asia-Pacific...
New Lloyd’s Syndicate to Provide Amateur Sports Coverage
Aug 16 2006 // The old saying about necessity being “the mother of invention” also seems to hold true for the insurance industry. With the number of sports related injuries on the increase in the U.K. – there are an...
Lloyd’s Warns on Australian Stock Broker Coverage
Aug 14 2006 // Lloyd’s issued a bulletin warning that an Australian stock brokerage firm called The Armitage has been falsely claiming to have coverage from Lloyd’s. Lloyd’s said it “has become aware” that...
Guy Carpenter Names Carroll Sr. VP, Head of Broking for Australia, NZ
Aug 2 2006 // Guy Carpenter & Company, Inc., the global risk and reinsurance specialist of the Marsh & McLennan Companies, announced that John Carroll has joined the firm’s Sydney office as Senior Vice President and Head...
Best Rates Australia’s Guild ‘A-‘
Jun 26 2006 // A.M. Best Co. has assigned a financial strength rating of “A-” (Excellent) and an issuer credit rating of “a-” to Australia’s Guild Insurance Limited (GIL), with a stable outlook. “The...
Euler Hermes to Enter Australia, NZ Credit Market
Jun 22 2006 // Euler Hermes, the Paris-based international credit insurer, has signed a letter of intent with Lumley General Insurance to acquire its credit insurance activities in Australia and New Zealand. Euler Hermes’ bulletin...
Business Moves
Jun 19 2006 // Praetorian, Alea North America Specialty insurer Praetorian Financial Group agreed to acquire Alea North America Specialty Insurance Co., an affiliate of Alea Group Holdings Ltd. of Hamilton, Bermuda. The sale is subject...
Australian Company Selling Bogus Products in Kentucky, Being Investigated Elsewhere
Jun 9 2006 // An Australian company, Sinclair Insurance Co. Ltd. is selling amusement ride and professional liability insurance products in Kentucky without a certificate of authority from the state, according to the Kentucky Office of...
