This Month
Insurers call for $30b flood defence fund to protect properties
After Peter Dutton said he wanted to break up insurers, the industry wants to partner with governments to strengthen infrastructure and relocate the most vulnerable buildings.
Banks, insurers crack down on abusers using their products as weapons
Financial abuse is estimated to cost victims $5.7 billion every year – more than twice the amount of losses from scams.
QBE boss hits back: high insurance premiums are due to risk
Andrew Horton has issued the first response from an insurance industry boss since the opposition leader threatened to break up companies.
Populist politics won’t make insurance cheaper
Peter Dutton has reached for a big stick without any attempt to explain how breaking insurers up into smaller companies would lower the cost of insurance.
Don’t neglect the human elements of productivity
Readers’ letters on the downsides of digital service delivery; Peter Dutton and big insurers; anti-hate speech legislation; RBA promises; offshore wind farms; and cost blowouts.
Insurers argue returns are falling as Coalition seesaws on divestment
Peter Dutton threatens to force insurers to divest assets if they were found to be abusing their market power. He made similar remarks about supermarkets.
Dutton’s ‘big stick’ plan could make your insurance more expensive
Rather than focusing on re-regulating the sector, the Coalition leader should take the advice of his own backbench and ease the regulatory burden.
IAG says LA wildfires were a wake-up call on disaster preparation
The insurance giant, which owns the NRMA and CGU brands, reports a 91 per cent jump in interim profit, but its shares fell as premium rises moderated.
Suncorp confident it can rise to challenge of Queensland floods
The deluge will not push up insurance premiums thanks to strong buffers, the CEO of the Brisbane-based insurer said after its interim results impressed.
Brian Hartzer, Gandel family back $45m insurance start-up UpCover
The company, which has just finished raising more money, is attempting to disrupt the commercial insurance industry that has long been dominated by two brokers.
Don’t go on holidays to relax, push yourself, says this top exec
Gurbaj Pawar, head of strategy at insurance broking company AUB Group and a 2024 BOSS Young Executive, hikes and plays with his young daughter to stay fit.
January
Thousands evacuate as new major wildfire erupts near LA
Fire crews are making progress on blunting the threat from an enormous new blaze north of Los Angeles that forced more than 50,000 under evacuation orders.
Butler rejects health insurers’ second bid to lift prices
Health Minister Mark Butler has rejected a second round of requests from private health insurers to increase customer premiums, saying they need to help more during the cost-of-living crisis.
Californian fires to push premiums higher, worsening poor policy cover
The rising cost of insurance policies has already meant a third of about $60 billion in natural disaster damage over the past decade was left uninsured.
Why so many were uninsured before the LA fires
The spiralling costs of extreme weather and natural disaster only partly explain insurers’ withdrawal from the too-hard markets. Others blame excessive regulation.
LA fires stoke insurer unease as claims bill mounts
Barrenjoey’s Andrew Adams says the wildfires highlight the growing unpredictability of weather patterns and the increasing severity of events.
It cost $20k to bring a dog to Australia, but that was just the start
If there was a pet under your tree this Christmas, buckle up for a lifetime of expense (along with the love, of course).
December 2024
Steadfast employees under investigation for potential insider trading
Two employees of ASX-listed insurance broker Steadfast Group are being investigated by the corporate regulator for potential insider trading.
Banks, insurers told to work harder to prevent financial abuse
A committee chaired by Labor senator Deborah O’Neill has tabled 61 recommendations to reduce the insidious practice.
ASIC slams insurers for gaping holes in complaints systems
“We are extremely disappointed with what we found here,” ASIC commissioner Alan Kirkland said, putting IAG, QBE and Suncorp on notice.