Suncorp CEO monitors summer storms as insurer shares fall 20 per cent
Suncorp shares have tumbled 20 per cent as CEO Steve Johnston watches weather forecasts while the insurer’s natural hazard losses approach $1.3 billion.
With holiday season on its way, Suncorp CEO Steve Johnston will be taking a well deserved break, but he’s keeping an eye on the weather.
With forecasts for more wild times ahead its no coincidence that in the last three months the insurer’s shares have slipped by about 20 per cent and in the past month 13 per cent.
Other insurers have also copped a share walloping with the last big weather event in late November when large hail – mango sized in some cases – and destructive winds smashed into South East Queensland, taking a big bite out of the insurance pie
Suncorp’s total natural hazard losses are currently running somewhere in a range from $1.15bn to $1.275bn so far in FY26.
The good news is that it remains well under Suncorp’s natural hazards allowance for the current year though, which is set at $1.77bn. And the even better news is that Suncorp’s main catastrophe cover remains in place, with a maximum event retention of $350m for a further two large events, as a result of the FY26 purchase of cover for a third large event up to $1bn.
But Johnston’s still looking to the heavens.
The Artful Travellers
The artistic director of the Wynnum Fringe Festival Tom Oliver has added another string to his bow launching The Artful Travellers.
The new company offers curious explorers the opportunity to step inside Australia’s major events and festivals through curated journeys.
Oliver says each itinerary will pair premium hospitality with insider access – the kind normally reserved for artists and industry – giving travellers a deeper, more connected way to experience Australia’s creative energy.
The company’s inaugural journey, delivered in partnership with Ghost Light Global NYC, is a the six-day immersion at Adelaide Fringe Festival from 20 to 25 February 2026.
Travellers will enjoy the festival like headline artists, with invitations to opening nights, dinners with performers, curated daily shows, private hub tours and premium accommodation.
Oliver (yes City Beat gets the punny inspirations for The Artful Travellers name) says the idea for the venture grew from a belief that festivals offer something deeper than just entertainment.
“I wanted to build a way for travellers to feel that sense of belonging and to understand the stories, people and passions that live behind every festival moment,” he says.
“When travellers get to meet those people, share a meal with them or experience a show through their eyes, the journey becomes personal. It becomes something they carry with them long after they return home.”
Brighter future
The world’s largest 100 per cent renewable energy company Acciona Energia has completed the commissioning and start of commercial operations at its giant solar farm near Gladstone.
The Spanish company’s Aldoga Solar Farm will generate clean electricity equivalent to the annual consumption of about 185,000 households and its entire renewable energy output will be supplied to Queensland’s state-owned energy company Stanwell Corporation, playing a pivotal role to step up decarbonisation in the region.
The solar farm will avoid about 934,000 tonnes of carbon emissions each year – an impact comparable to removing 360,000 petrol guzzling vehicles from the roads.
Acciona Energia Australia managing director Gavin Reymond says Aldoga Solar Farm was completed ahead of schedule.
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Originally published as Suncorp CEO monitors summer storms as insurer shares fall 20 per cent
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