New data released by the Australian Prudential and Regulation Authority show that the proportion of the population with basic hospital cover dropped to 44.2% at 30 June - its lowest level since 2007.
A Sydney boutique brokerage, Wickshire, has become the first Australian-based registered Lloyd's broker as technological uptake at the London market makes it easier to transact business from global locations.
Despite reporting an underwriting loss of $24m in 1H2019, QBE Insurance posted a 29% jump in statutory net profit amounting to $463m compared to $358m in the same period last year. Its cash profit after tax increased by 35% to $520m. This resulted in the combined operating ratio decreasing to 95.2% from 95.8% year-on-year.
The government has released its Banking, Superannuation and Financial Services Royal Commission Implementation Roadmap setting out how it will deliver on its comprehensive response to the Royal Commission's report, "Restoring trust in Australia's financial system".
The Australian Prudential Regulation Authority (APRA) has announced that it will apply an additional A$250m ($170m) capital requirement to Allianz Australia to reflect the issues identified in the insurer's risk governance self-assessment.
An explosion of damages awarded in defamation cases in Australia could see insurance capacity shrink. There is already anecdotal evidence of reduced insurance capacity and availability. According to Victorian Bar Queen's Counsel David Gilbertson this means higher premiums are 'inevitable'.
The revised estimate of the property insurance market loss for the Townsville/northern Queensland flooding event in Australia between 26 January and 10 February 2019 stands at A$1.217bn ($826.4m) according to the third property loss estimate released by PERILS, an independent catastrophe insurance data provider.
Properties with open floor plans and multiple bathrooms could soon become more difficult and costly to insure, as insurers warn of a spike in the size of water damage claims.
With Australian legislation being way behind the technological advances of driverless cars, there is a risk of early adopters being on the roads without insurance coverage according to Barry.Nilsson.Lawyers principal Henry Silvester who will address this topic with delegates at the Australian Insurance Law Association (AILA)'s national conference later this year.
Premium price gains in the Pacific region, including Australia and New Zealand, tripled the pace of global increases in the second quarter of this year, a Marsh report shows.