Latest Australia Headlines

All the headlines from our Australia Topic Page, ordered by recency.

Liquidator Seeks Recovery from Australian Gov’t. for HIH Losses

Nov 14 2002 // Tony McGrath, the KPMG accountant who’s in charge of liquidating failed Australian insurer HIH, has filed a claim against the Australian government alleging that negligent supervision on the part of its insurance...

XL Capital Integrates Le Mans Re into XL Re Ltd. Asia Pacific Operations

Oct 24 2002 // Bermuda’s XL Capital Ltd. announced that it has completed the integration of the Singapore branches of its subsidiaries XL Re Ltd. and Le Mans Re into a single branch to be headed by Scott Ryrie, General Manager...

S&P Affirms NRMA, IAGNZ ‘AA’ Ratings

Oct 18 2002 // Standard & Poor’s announced that it has affirmed its double-‘A’ long-term insurer financial strength and counterparty credit ratings on NRMA Insurance Ltd. and IAG New Zealand Ltd., with a...

Aviva To Sell Australia, New Zealand Operations to IAG

Oct 17 2002 // Aviva, PLC, once known as the insurance company CGNU, has agreed to sell its general insurance operations in Australia and New Zealand to the Insurance Australia Group (IAG) for A$1.86 billion (approximately U.S. $1...

190 Die, Many Injured in Bali Bomb Blast

Oct 14 2002 // Local authorities in the town of Kuta on the Indonesian island of Bali have confirmed that at least 190 people died, and more than 300 were injured, when an enormous explosion completely destroyed the Sari Club, a local...

S&P Lowers NRMA Ratings to ‘AA’

Oct 3 2002 // Standard & Poor’s announced that it has lowered its double-‘A’-plus long-term insurer financial strength and counterparty credit ratings on NRMA Insurance Ltd. and IAG New Zealand Ltd. to...

Principal Financial to Sell Australian Operations to Westpac

Aug 26 2002 // Iowa-based Principal Financial Group announced that it has reached a definitive agreement for the sale of its BT Financial Group businesses to Australia’s Westpac Banking Corporation for an initial payment of A$900...

Assurex Global Expands U.S., Australian Presence

Aug 15 2002 // Assurex Global, a Columbus, Ohio-based risk management and commercial insurance brokerage group, announced acquisitions in Australia, Florida, and Louisiana. The company’s new brokerages include Zuellig Insurance...

T-TP to Merge Software Unit with Australia’s Classic Solutions

Jul 1 2002 // Financial and insurance consultant Tillinghast – Towers Perrin announced that it has reached an agreement with Australian-based Classic Solutions to join forces to provide development, sales and support of software...

XL to Restructure Reinsurance Operations Integrating Le Mans Re

Jun 18 2002 // Bermuda’s XL Capital Ltd. announced that plans are under way to restructure some of its reinsurance operations, primarily by fully integrating French-based Le Mans Re into its company structure. XL acquired a...

S&P Affirms ‘AA+’ Ratings on Australia’s NRMA

May 6 2002 // Standard & Poor’s has affirmed its double-‘A’-plus insurer financial strength and counterparty credit ratings on Australian general insurer NRMA Insurance Ltd. (NRMA) and its New Zealand subsidiary,...

ING Restructures U.S. Asset Management Operations; Announces Joint Venture with ANZ

May 3 2002 // Holland’s ING Group announced that it is combining parts of its U.S. asset management businesses, including the ING Aeltus Group, into ING Investment Management (IIM), its global asset management group, and is...

Australia Extends Aviation Excess Coverage

Apr 12 2002 // The Australian government has joined the U.S., the European Union and other countries in extending excess coverage for terrorist and war risk to the country’s airline industry and related infrastructure. The...

Australia’s QBE Posts $13 Million Loss for 2001

Mar 13 2002 // QBE, the Australian insurer, which actually derives over 80 percent of its business from outside the country, ended its 20 year record of increasing profits with the announcement that of a $13 million loss for 2001. Right...

ISO Acquires 100 Percent of NetMap Analytics

Feb 27 2002 // Insurance Services Office, Inc. (ISO) has acquired 100 percent of NetMap Analytics LLC, a Columbus, Ohio-based software company that produces visual-link analysis technology used to detect fraud in insurance claims. The...

AIR Releases New Earthquake, Typhoon Models for Japan, Australia

Feb 5 2002 // Boston-based Applied Insurance Research, Inc. (AIR), a leading catastrophe modeling firm, has released the 2002 versions of its earthquake and typhoon models for the Asia-Pacific region, in time for the April 1st renewals...

Australian Brush Fire Loss Estimates Rise

Jan 3 2002 // As more than a 100 individual fires continued to rage unchecked around Sydney and other parts of the Australian State of New South Wales, more homes and buildings have been destroyed, Australian insurers estimate that...

Australian Fires Still Unchecked, Losses Rise

Dec 31 2001 // The brush fires raging near Sydney, Australia’s largest city, (See IJ Website, Dec. 27) continued to burn out of control over the weekend, as milder weather, which was helping the 15,000 firefighters control the...

S&P Downgrades QBE’s Underwriting Units

Sep 19 2001 // The underwriting entities which make up Australia’s QBE Group became the first insurers to be downgraded by Standard & Poor’s following its assessment of the group’s exposure to the World Trade...

HIH Creditors May Get Only Half of Amounts Owed

Sep 4 2001 // Tony McGrath, the provisional liquidator for failed Australian insurer HIH, indicated that creditors of the bankrupt company may get only about 50 cents on the dollar. New loss estimates have put HIH’s shortfall as...