Affordability: the elephant in the room
25 March 2013
For all of the Government’s recent announcements on mitigation works and flood cover, the issue of short-term affordability of insurance remains unsolved…
Analysis
Younger business-owners pose a problem for brokers
18 March 2013
Brokers must better promote their value or risk losing SME clients, particularly the under-40s and women, a new report warns…
More regulation is coming, and it’s unstoppable
11 March 2013
The insurance industry faces a storm of regulation coming from abroad, along with local pressure from governments over the affordability of cover and discrimination based on risk…
Mitigation funding isn’t all it’s cracked up to be
04 March 2013
While on the surface the Federal Government’s commitment to flood mitigation funding seems to answer some prayers for the insurance industry, it may turn out to be a case of being careful what you wish for…
North Queenslanders caught in a downward spiral
25 February 2013
A spate of natural disasters in north Queensland, from Cyclone Larry in 2006 to Cyclone Yasi in 2011, has really only affected southern Australians via the rising price of bananas…
Why truck crashes are down but premiums are rising
18 February 2013
The past five years have seen enormous progress in reducing fatal truck accidents, with deaths from heavy vehicle crashes down 20%…
Weather woes make La Niña the girl to watch
11 February 2013
Long before sophisticated measuring tools and satellite feeds, it was fishermen off the west coast of Ecuador and Peru who first noticed rising sea temperatures at year’s end…
General Insurance Code of Practice review: key points
04 February 2013
Submissions in response to the issues paper produced by Ian Enright’s review of the General Insurance Code of Practice have begun to emerge…
The distribution and competition pincer grip
10 December 2012
A crackdown by the Australian Securities and Investments Commission on insurance price comparison sites will please insurers but carries an implicit warning to the industry on the growing role of aggregators…
Insurance industry must prepare for class actions: Finity
03 December 2012
The insurance industry is under-prepared for the effects of class actions, which are likely to grow in size and number…
Courts coming down on the side of ex-employers
26 November 2012
Brokers have made it clear they will take legal action against former employees who they believe may try to poach clients – and court decisions this year have tended to favour the employers…
A long wait for a short reply on flood report
19 November 2012
Nine months after the Queensland Floods Commission of Inquiry made its final report on the floods of late 2010 and early last year, the Federal Government has finally delivered its response…
A burning question for insurers
12 November 2012
Another day and yet another scientific report has demonstrated the risks linked with natural disasters are rising…
Cracking the code: key questions of the Enright review
05 November 2012
The General Insurance Code of Practice is to undergo its biggest overhaul since its inception in 1994…
The factors that led to north Queensland’s strata cover crisis
29 October 2012
The Australian Government Actuary’s report on strata title pricing in north Queensland provides no comfort for unit owners faced with huge premium increases – but it does shed light on the underlying factors…
Is conciliation the way forward?
22 October 2012
Insurance complaints to the Financial Ombudsman Service are rising, even when natural disaster claims are excluded…
Is the local liability market profitable?
15 October 2012
The liability insurance sector seems to be booming, according to recent data from the Australian Prudential Regulation Authority…
AIG: back from the brink
08 October 2012
Four years ago the insurance industry was rocked by the news that the world’s largest and best-known insurer, American International Group, was set to lose its AA credit rating due to massive exposures…
The search for certainty on D&O
01 October 2012
Moves to reduce individual directors’ liability for corporate fault should cut risks in directors’ and officers’ cover and lead to cheaper premiums…
Voltaire would cringe at APRA’s new powers
24 September 2012
French Enlightenment writer Voltaire said that with great power comes great responsibility…