Local
Flood damage ‘wildly disproportionate’ to known exposure: ICA
04 December 2023
Flood events accounted for more than 54% of losses from declared insurance events in the last five years despite only a small percentage of properties known to be at risk, the Insurance Council of Australia (ICA) says in a submission to a parliamentary inquiry...
Severe eastern Australia storms trigger thousands of claims
04 December 2023
Severe storms and flooding in southern and eastern Australia over the past week have triggered thousands of claims across a swathe of the country...
Bureau warns cyclone could move close to Queensland next week
04 December 2023
The Bureau of Meteorology says a tropical cyclone has a high chance of forming near the Solomon Islands and could move close to the Queensland coast next week...
Queensland, NSW at heightened summer bushfire risk
04 December 2023
Large areas of Queensland, NSW and the NT are at increased risk of summer bushfires after above average August to October maximum temperatures...
EQC announces biennial grant recipients
04 December 2023
Toka Tu Ake EQC has awarded more than $NZ1.2 million to 14 research teams as part of its Biennial Grants round...
No ‘cash cow’: ICA CEO calls for stamp duty reform
27 November 2023
Stamp duty reforms must be undertaken as part of measures to improve affordability and resilience, Insurance Council of Australia CEO Andrew Hall has told the National Press Club in Canberra...
Caravan park in first industry test case wins AFCA BI dispute
27 November 2023
A caravan park near Tamworth that was part of the first covid-related business interruption test case on exclusions citing the Quarantine Act will have its claim paid after the Australian Financial Complaints Authority ruled in its favour on other parts of the cover...
Property Council raises concerns over proposed NSW ESL change
27 November 2023
The Property Council of Australia has concerns over NSW Government plans to remove the Emergency Services Levy from insurance and apply a different model to raise the funds...
ICA says progress made on climate change roadmap
27 November 2023
The Insurance Council of Australia says in the first annual update on its climate change roadmap that more than 85% of members surveyed have set organisation-wide net zero targets by 2050 or earlier, and more than 60% have also set interim targets...
IAG pays out more than $NZ1 billion in flood, cyclone claims
27 November 2023
IAG received 51,000 claims across its AMI, State and NZI brands after destructive North Island floods and Cyclone Gabrielle struck early this year, and has so fair paid out more than $NZ1 billion for the two events...
Scientists crunch data from ocean bottom seismic sensors
27 November 2023
An international team of scientists set sail from Wellington on Saturday to lay an offshore network of seismic sensors on the ocean floor to give a better understanding of earthquake and tsunami risk from New Zealand’s largest and most active fault, the Hikurangi Subduction Zone...
Flood learnings a key focus for general insurance code review
20 November 2023
An independent review of the general insurance code of practice will be conducted over two phases, with the second to focus on flood-related topics...
AFCA concerned over rise in ‘complex’ complaints, gives BI update
20 November 2023
The Australian Financial Complaints Authority has urged general insurers to review the way expert reports and submissions are prepared after a rise in “complex” general insurance disputes...
Fire-retardant paint is latest tool against bushfire
20 November 2023
A new fire-retardant paint that expands and creates a protective insulating layer during fire events is now on sale at Bunnings for around $39 a litre...
NZ industry faces increased intervention as premium affordability worsens
20 November 2023
New Zealand’s general insurance industry is likely to see increased government involvement as more and more households struggle with premium affordability, AM Best says in a report on the country’s non-life sector...
Recession worries executives more than extreme weather, survey finds
20 November 2023
Recession, inflation and energy supply shortages are the top three risks identified in a survey of executives in Australia and New Zealand, conducted in collaboration with insurer Zurich...
'Problems getting worse’: Allianz urges climate risk investment
20 November 2023
Allianz Australia's Chief Technical Officer James Fitzpatrick has urged Australia to keep building momentum on resilience investment to help prepare for severe climate hazards...
‘We’re not afraid of transparency’: AUB, PSC back code reversal
13 November 2023
Listed brokers AUB Group and PSC have set out their position on the revised Insurance Brokers Code of Practice, arguing that the previous version would have been “impractical”...
Business interruption cover for Optus outage ‘limited at best’
13 November 2023
Business interruption cover for the Optus outage is unlikely to be available in most cases due to requirements around physical damage and time limits, insurance lawyers say...
BI class action notices to be sent out next year
13 November 2023
Notices inviting policyholders to register their interest in business interruption class actions triggered by pandemic disruptions will be sent out by early February following preliminary Federal Court hearings to approve the process...