Quake commission sets year-end target for claims
04 February 2013
By the end of this year New Zealand insurers will have all Canterbury quake claims above the Earthquake Commission cap of $NZ100,000 ($80,000), according to CEO Ian Simpson…
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IAG and Munich Re form resilience roundtable
04 February 2013
IAG and Munich Re have joined other Australian businesses in a group to examine the social and economic costs of natural disasters, and how they can be cut by making communities safer and more resilient…
Design faults found in doomed building
04 February 2013
The Canterbury Earthquakes Royal Commission has found design faults in the CTV building that collapsed in the February 22 2011 quake, causing 115 of the 185 deaths that day…
Challenger brands chip at insurer ‘duopoly’
10 December 2012
The emergence of “challenger” insurers in the motor sector will dent industry profitability and weaken the grip of IAG and Suncorp, according to a report by Bank of America Merrill Lynch…
Code reviewer signals comprehensive revamp
10 December 2012
The ongoing review of the General Insurance Code of Practice is more thorough than past overhauls so it can “crack… unresolved issues that have lingered for some time”, according to independent reviewer…
Price war marks final days of Victorian FSL
10 December 2012
A price war has broken out in the final months of the Victorian fire services levy, with insurers dropping their rates by different amounts and Vero ditching the FSL on country policies altogether…
NIBA rejects ‘name and shame’ approach to code compliance
10 December 2012
The National Insurance Brokers Association has rejected calls to name General Insurance Code of Practice participants under investigation for breaches or non-compliance…
Landlord insurance struggles for penetration
10 December 2012
Nearly a quarter of lessors have no landlord insurance, according to a survey by research group BDRC Jones Donald…
NZ proposes deadline on earthquake-prone buildings
10 December 2012
All earthquake-prone buildings should be strengthened or demolished within 15 years of assessment, the New Zealand Government says in an initial response to the Canterbury Earthquakes Royal Commission…
In Insurance News (the magazine) this month
10 December 2012
The December edition of Insurance News (the magazine) is hitting mailboxes this week with its popular mix of news backgrounders, interviews, technical articles and the always-popular PeopleNEWS section…
Accountants to sell general insurance
03 December 2012
New licensing legislation will allow accountants to sell general insurance products to super fund members…
Good times return for general insurers
03 December 2012
General insurers have enjoyed premium growth and a fall in claims in the September quarter, according to Australian Prudential Regulation Authority figures…
Bridgecorp appeal casts shadow over more court cases
03 December 2012
The appeal against the Bridgecorp decision in New Zealand continues to hang over other litigation, with a case involving QBE and Vero the latest to be caught up…
Code review submissions close
03 December 2012
The deadline for responses to an issues paper regarding the General Insurance Code of Practice review closed last Friday, with many submissions yet to be received…
Long-tail rates need to rise, says CGU chief
03 December 2012
Falling interest rates are pressuring insurance premiums, with CGU CEO Peter Harmer warning liability rates will need to rise at least 8% to offset a steep fall in investment yields…
Lawyers frustrated by class action delay
03 December 2012
Law firm Maurice Blackburn has criticised delays of more than a month in its class action for victims of the Kilmore East Black Saturday bushfire because of delays building a new courtroom for the case…
Zurich watches D&O market ‘very closely’ after LIBOR
03 December 2012
Directors’ and officers’ (D&O) claims may result from the LIBOR manipulation scandal, according to Zurich Australia Head of Financial Institutions Damian Lynch…
ICA joins uni to research strata damage
26 November 2012
The Insurance Council of Australia and James Cook University in Townsville have joined forces to identify factors in the design of strata title buildings that lead to unnecessary insurance losses…
QBE cuts Victoria FSL, with others expected to follow
26 November 2012
Brokers are waiting for more insurers to cut the fire services levy on Victorian policies after QBE last week announced it would reduce its rates from January 5…
FOS to increase engagement with insurance industry
26 November 2012
Chief Ombudsman Shane Tregillis says the Financial Ombudsman Service has good relationships with members and their professional associations – but it wants to do more…