Daily
APRA Deputy Chairman to oversee insurance
19 March 2021
Australian Prudential Regulation Authority Deputy Chairman Helen Rowell will assume responsibility for general, life and private health insurance in executive board changes triggered by the retirement last year of Geoff Summerhayes...
Not insurer’s job to advise on sum insured, says AFCA
19 March 2021
An IAG policyholder who says she was underinsured by almost $600,000 after her house was destroyed in a bushfire has lost a dispute after arguing that the insurer did not advise her on the “appropriate level of cover”...
Businesses turn to brokers in tough times: Vero SME Index
18 March 2021
Broker usage among small businesses has risen during the COVID-19 pandemic, the 10th anniversary edition of Vero’s SME Index reveals...
Progress made on 21-point icare action plan
18 March 2021
The NSW State Insurance Regulatory Authority says eight measures remain to be completed from a 21-point action plan to improve the performance of icare, with the COVID-19 pandemic and leadership changes contributing to some delays...
Westpac sells lenders' mortgage insurance to Arch
18 March 2021
Westpac Group announced today its lenders’ mortgage insurance unit will be sold to Bermuda-based specialty lines insurer Arch Capital Group at book value, further accelerating the bank’s exit from non-core lending activities...
Woman who cancelled trip after discovering pregnancy loses claim dispute
18 March 2021
A holidaymaker who unexpectedly found out she was seven weeks pregnant just three weeks after buying travel insurance has lost a claim dispute after she cancelled an overseas trip...
QBE 'doing utmost' to help couple with termite-ridden home
17 March 2021
QBE says it is doing its “utmost” to support a Gold Coast couple who moved into their new house and discovered a few months later the property was infested with termites - even though it didn't insure the home...
Action needed as product rules loom: NIBA
17 March 2021
The National Insurance Brokers Association says broking firms should consult a legal adviser on new design and distribution obligations as a priority as the industry continues discussions on how the new legislation will work...
Landlord with undisclosed ties to crime-hit tenant loses claim dispute
17 March 2021
AIG has won a claim dispute after a warehouse owner failed to reveal that he owned half the business renting his property, or make it known that it had been placed under administration prior to the policy commencing...
INsight podcast: code breaches, industry moves and reinsurance pools
17 March 2021
The panel on this week’s Insurance News podcast focuses on the Code Governance Committee’s disappointment at continued breaches of the General Insurance Code of Practice...
Federal Court hears BI test case preliminaries
16 March 2021
The Federal Court has held an initial case management hearing for the insurance industry’s second business interruption legal proceedings, setting out a timeline for the next steps...
Code progress made in tough year: ICA
16 March 2021
The Insurance Council of Australia says the industry made progress in detecting, reporting and remedying Code of Practice breaches last year amid intense pressures from natural disasters and a pandemic...
Tourism decline in bushfire area 'not covered by BI'
16 March 2021
The financial dispute resolution body has ruled mostly in favour of Suncorp after a complaint was lodged by a Victorian holiday accommodation owner who believed he should have received a higher business interruption claim payout following bushfires in the area...
Flood-inducing La Nina 'nearly over'
16 March 2021
The La Nina weather system is “nearing its end”, the Bureau of Meteorology says in an update today...
COVID cuts motor vehicle thefts to two-decade low
12 March 2021
Australian motor vehicle thefts last year declined 15% to the lowest level in two decades of data collection due to coronavirus restrictions...
AM Best lowers Guild’s outlook to negative on BI uncertainty
12 March 2021
AM Best has revised its credit rating outlook for Guild Insurance to negative from stable, reflecting high uncertainty amid ongoing legal proceedings surrounding business interruption policy coverages in Australia...
NZ High Court delivers credit insurance penalty
12 March 2021
The High Court in Auckland has ordered ANZ New Zealand to pay $NZ280,000 ($260,169) for making misleading representations about credit card repayment insurance, and has warned deterrence will be a key factor in setting penalties for Financial Markets Conduct Act breaches...
Insurers not to blame for rise in cybercrime ransoms, expert says
12 March 2021
Blaming insurers for a rise in cyber crime is fundamentally “misguided” and making ransom payments illegal would only punish the victims, an industry expert says...
ASIC drops probe into regional brokerage
11 March 2021
The Australian Securities and Investments Commission has confirmed it will take no enforcement action against Griffiths Goodall, following a raid carried out in 2019...
General insurance accounts for 37% of COVID complaints
11 March 2021
General insurance has accounted for 37% of COVID-19 financial complaints over the past year, with travel leading a table of concerns across all product types...