The overall value for the Australian pension system decreased from 75.3 in 2019 to 74.2 in 2020 on the Mercer CFA Institute Global Pension Index (MCGPI) primarily due to a reduction in the net replacement rates published by the OECD.
Almost half (47%) of insurance brokers in Australia placed client's business directly with insurers, according to data collected by APRA for the half-year to 30 June 2020.
The insurance broking industry in Australia, similar to the rest of the financial services sector, has been experiencing increasing scrutiny of its business model by regulators, policymakers and the general public.
The Insurance Brokers Code of Practice has to stay up to date with change and thus there is an absolute necessity for regular, independent and professionally constructed Code reviews, points out the independent chairman of the Insurance Brokers Code Compliance Committee (IBCCC), Mr Michael Gill.
The Insurance Council of Australia (ICA) has welcomed a call by the Australian Prudential Regulation Authority (APRA) for significant funding for investments in natural disaster mitigation.
The Australian Securities and Investments Commission (ASIC) said it has identified a range of business interruption (BI) insurance policy wordings that may respond to losses arising from COVID-19. These includes cover under so-called 'infectious disease', 'prevention of access' or 'closure by authority' coverage clauses.
APRA-regulated financial institutions (authorised deposit-taking institutions (ADIs), insurers and superannuation funds) have stood up to the challenges which emerged at the beginning of 2020, both financially and operationally, and have continued to fulfil their critical roles in society and the economy, according to Mr Wayne Byres, APRA chairman in the regulatory agency's 2019-2020 Annual Report released last week.
The general insurance sector in Australia is highly engaged with natural disaster trends, with 100% of general insurers polled in a climate survey taking steps to better understand the risks, Mr Geoff Summerhayes, an executive board member of the Australian Prudential Regulation Authority (APRA), has said.
Bank of Queensland (BOQ) yesterday announced that it has entered into an agreement to sell St Andrew's Insurance to Farmcove Investment Holdings for A$23m ($16.5m).
As more people seek mental health support during the pandemic in Australia, the number of customers using MLC Life Insurance's mental health navigator service has almost doubled since the onset of COVID-19 as per new data.