Latest Australia Headlines
All the headlines from our Australia Topic Page, ordered by recency.
QBE Reports Record $375 Million 1st Half Profit
Aug 17 2005 // Australia’s QBE Insurance Group announced a record profit after tax of A$491 million (US$375 million) for the half year to 30 June 2005, an increase of 43 percent on the profit after tax of A$343 million (US$262...
S&P Affirms Allianz (Australia/NZ) Ratings; Revises Outlook to Positive
Aug 12 2005 // Standard & Poor’s Ratings Services announced that it has affirmed the long-term “A” insurer financial strength and counterparty credit ratings on Allianz Australia and its affiliate Allianz New...
S&P Assigns ‘BBB’ Rating to Australia’s EIG-Ansvar Ltd.
Aug 9 2005 // Standard & Poor’s Ratings Services announced that it has assigned its “BBB” financial strength and counterparty credit ratings to Australia-based nonlife insurer EIG-Ansvar Ltd. with a positive...
Crash Risk is Four Times Higher When Drivers Use Cell Phones, Study Says
Aug 8 2005 // Common sense as well as experience suggest that handling and dialing cell phones while driving compromise safety, and evidence is accumulating that phone conversations also increase crash risk. New research from the...
Australian Insurers Adopt New Practice Code, Raising Consumer Expectations
Jul 25 2005 // A recently-launched new Code of Practice for the Australian insurance industry will mean general insurers will meet higher, measurable performance standards for dealing with customers, including settling claims in specific...
Crash Risk is Four Times Higher When Drivers Use Cell Phones, Study Says
Jul 12 2005 // Common sense as well as experience tell us that handling and dialing cell phones while driving compromise safety, and evidence is accumulating that phone conversations also increase crash risk. New research from the...
Australian Insurers Back Mandatory Smoke Detectors
Jun 13 2005 // A proposal by the government of New South Wales that would make the installation of smoke detection devices in homes mandatory has received the backing of the Australian insurance industry According to a report in The...
PMI Australia Names Odland Director
Jun 3 2005 // The Calif.-based PMI Group Inc. has announced the appointment of Lynn Odland as an independent director to the PMI Australia Group Boards. The PMI Australia Boards include PMI Holdings (Aust) Pty Ltd., PMI Mortgage...
Best Affirms Ratings of New Zealand’s Tower Insurance; Outlook Stable
Jun 2 2005 // A.M. Best Co. announced that it has affirmed the financial strength rating of “A-” (Excellent) of new Zealand’s Tower Insurance Limited and the issuer credit rating (ICR) of “bbb-” of Tower...
S&P Analysis of Australia P/C Insurers
May 17 2005 // Standard & Poor’s has published an analysis of the current state of the Australian P/C industry. The rating agency noted: “The softening insurance cycle has entrenched itself in commercial lines in...
Australian Regulator Seeks Closer Scrutiny Over Insurers
May 3 2005 // The Australian Prudential Regulation Authority (APRA), which regulates the country’s insurance industry, is proposing tighter reporting requirements in order to enable the regulator to more closely scrutinize the...
Australian Regulators Investigating Gen Re Contracts
Apr 15 2005 // The waters of the finite reinsurance ocean continue to roil, as the Australian Prudential Regulation Authority (APRA) announced that it has launched an investigation into “certain reinsurance practices”...
HIH Founder Williams Sentenced to 4½ Years
Apr 15 2005 // Raymond Williams, 68, the founder and, until December 2000, the CEO, of failed Australian insurer HIH, was sentenced to 4½ years in prison for his role in the Australia’s biggest corporate failure. He is eligible...
S&P Reports on Australia-N.Z Markets
Apr 14 2005 // A report from Standard & Poor’s concludes that the “Australian and New Zealand markets continued to perform favorably during the first quarter of 2005, driven by a continuation of stable economic...
Former HIH Director Gets 4 Year Sentence
Apr 14 2005 // Rodney Adler, 45, has received a 4 year prison sentence, stemming from his part as a Director in the collapse of HIH Insurance Ltd. in March 2001, Australia’s largest corporate failure. He will be eligible for parole...
Promina Group Posts 53.7 Percent Net Profit Increase to $360 Million; S&P Comments
Feb 22 2005 // The Promina Group, Australia and New Zealand’s second largest general insurer, posted a 53.7 percent increase in net profits for 2004 to A$458 million (U.S. $360 million), despite a decision to increase its reserves...
IAG Plans to Buy 25% of China Pacific Property
Feb 21 2005 // Insurance Australia Group (IAG), the country’s largest automobile and home insurer, is reportedly planning to buy a 25 stake in China Pacific Insurance Co.’s property unit. A report from Bloomberg.com said that...
The Asian Catastrophe: An Unprecedented Event Evokes a Global Response
Jan 24 2005 // Certain events mark each generation, but as the scope of the disaster that struck 12 countries around the Indian Ocean on Dec. 26 emerges, it has become evident that it will haunt not just the present generation, but many...
S&P Sees No Effect on Australian Insurers’ Ratings from Tsunami Losses
Dec 29 2004 // Standard & Poor’s Ratings Services has issued a bulletin stating that it does not expect Australian general insurers to be materially affected by the cost of insurance claims arising from the Indian Ocean...
$43 Million Belfast Bank Heist; No Insurance
Dec 23 2004 // As more details emerge from Britain’s biggest bank robbery, it’s become clear that the Northern Bank in Belfast, Northern Ireland, which is owned by The National Australia Bank, had no insurance coverage. A...
