All the headlines from our Australia Topic Page, ordered by recency.
Aug 17 2005 // Australia’s QBE Insurance Group announced a record profit after tax of A$491 million (US$375 million) for the half year to 30 June 2005, an increase of 43 percent on the profit after tax of A$343 million (US$262...
Aug 12 2005 // Standard & Poor’s Ratings Services announced that it has affirmed the long-term “A” insurer financial strength and counterparty credit ratings on Allianz Australia and its affiliate Allianz New...
Aug 9 2005 // Standard & Poor’s Ratings Services announced that it has assigned its “BBB” financial strength and counterparty credit ratings to Australia-based nonlife insurer EIG-Ansvar Ltd. with a positive...
Aug 8 2005 // Common sense as well as experience suggest that handling and dialing cell phones while driving compromise safety, and evidence is accumulating that phone conversations also increase crash risk.New research from the...
Jul 25 2005 // A recently-launched new Code of Practice for the Australian insurance industry will mean general insurers will meet higher, measurable performance standards for dealing with customers, including settling claims in specific...
Jul 12 2005 // Common sense as well as experience tell us that handling and dialing cell phones while driving compromise safety, and evidence is accumulating that phone conversations also increase crash risk.New research from the...
Jun 13 2005 // A proposal by the government of New South Wales that would make the installation of smoke detection devices in homes mandatory has received the backing of the Australian insurance industry According to a report in The...
Jun 3 2005 // The Calif.-based PMI Group Inc. has announced the appointment of Lynn Odland as an independent director to the PMI Australia Group Boards. The PMI Australia Boards include PMI Holdings (Aust) Pty Ltd., PMI Mortgage...
Jun 2 2005 // A.M. Best Co. announced that it has affirmed the financial strength rating of “A-” (Excellent) of new Zealand’s Tower Insurance Limited and the issuer credit rating (ICR) of “bbb-” of Tower...
May 17 2005 // Standard & Poor’s has published an analysis of the current state of the Australian P/C industry. The rating agency noted: “The softening insurance cycle has entrenched itself in commercial lines in...
May 3 2005 // The Australian Prudential Regulation Authority (APRA), which regulates the country’s insurance industry, is proposing tighter reporting requirements in order to enable the regulator to more closely scrutinize the...
Apr 15 2005 // The waters of the finite reinsurance ocean continue to roil, as the Australian Prudential Regulation Authority (APRA) announced that it has launched an investigation into “certain reinsurance practices”...
Apr 15 2005 // Raymond Williams, 68, the founder and, until December 2000, the CEO, of failed Australian insurer HIH, was sentenced to 4½ years in prison for his role in the Australia’s biggest corporate failure. He is eligible...
Apr 14 2005 // A report from Standard & Poor’s concludes that the “Australian and New Zealand markets continued to perform favorably during the first quarter of 2005, driven by a continuation of stable economic...
Apr 14 2005 // Rodney Adler, 45, has received a 4 year prison sentence, stemming from his part as a Director in the collapse of HIH Insurance Ltd. in March 2001, Australia’s largest corporate failure. He will be eligible for parole...
Feb 22 2005 // The Promina Group, Australia and New Zealand’s second largest general insurer, posted a 53.7 percent increase in net profits for 2004 to A$458 million (U.S. $360 million), despite a decision to increase its reserves...
Feb 21 2005 // Insurance Australia Group (IAG), the country’s largest automobile and home insurer, is reportedly planning to buy a 25 stake in China Pacific Insurance Co.’s property unit. A report from Bloomberg.com said that...
Jan 24 2005 // Certain events mark each generation, but as the scope of the disaster that struck 12 countries around the Indian Ocean on Dec. 26 emerges, it has become evident that it will haunt not just the present generation, but many...
Dec 29 2004 // Standard & Poor’s Ratings Services has issued a bulletin stating that it does not expect Australian general insurers to be materially affected by the cost of insurance claims arising from the Indian Ocean...
Dec 23 2004 // As more details emerge from Britain’s biggest bank robbery, it’s become clear that the Northern Bank in Belfast, Northern Ireland, which is owned by The National Australia Bank, had no insurance coverage.A...