Latest Australia Headlines
All the headlines from our Australia Topic Page, ordered by recency.
ACE Makes New Appointments for Its Casualty Business in Asia Pacific
Mar 13 2015 // ACE Group has appointed Shaun Oliver to the role of head of casualty (energy and construction), Asia Pacific. The creation of this new role reflects the rapid growth and ongoing demand within this portfolio of business,...
U.S. Dominates Climate Change Litigation
Mar 12 2015 // It’s almost counterintuitive if you think about it. There is far more litigation related to climate change in the U.S. compared with Europe, which is usually considered more progressive on the issue. For an example...
Forecasters Warn of New Australia Cyclone Formation; Marcia Claims
Mar 9 2015 // A low pressure system off northeastern Australia holds up to a 50 percent chance of intensifying to cyclone strength over the next two days and slamming into a region devastated two weeks ago by Cyclone Marcia, according...
Report on Missing Malaysia Airlines Flight 370 Says Locator Battery Expired
Mar 9 2015 // The Malaysia Airlines flight that went missing one year ago Sunday had an underwater locator beacon whose battery had expired in December 2012, according to an interim report on the incident. Flight 370 was also carrying...
JLT Australia Buys Recovre, a Provider of Workplace Health & Safety Services
Mar 3 2015 // JLT Australia, a subsidiary of Jardine Lloyd Thompson Group plc, announced it has agreed to acquire 100 percent of the shares of Recovre Group from Hawkesbridge Capital. Recovre is a leading national provider of workplace...
QBE Returns to Profit During 2014 as North American Unit Improves
Feb 24 2015 // QBE Insurance Group Ltd., Australia’s second-largest insurer by market value, climbed the most in four years in Sydney stock trading as an improving North American business and lower provisions helped it return to...
Australia Cyclone Causes Power Cuts, but Spares Miners, Farmers
Feb 23 2015 // Commodities producers were spared the full wrath of a powerful cyclone that smashed into the east coast of Australia packing winds up to 285 kph (175 mph), but thousands of coastal residents on Monday faced a third day...
Australian Tropical Cyclones Weaken After Destructive Winds Hit Coast
Feb 20 2015 // Two severe tropical cyclones that lashed Australia’s north and east coasts with destructive winds have been downgraded after hitting the mainland. No deaths or injuries have been reported in their wake. Cyclone...
Insurance Australia Shares Drop Most in Six Years After Profit Decline
Feb 18 2015 // Insurance Australia Group Ltd. shares slumped the most in six years after the company’s first-half profit declined and missed expectations. The insurer fell 7.5 percent to A$5.91 as of 1:00 p.m. in Sydney, the...
Lloyd’s Appoints Mackinnon as General Representative in Australia
Feb 3 2015 // Lloyd’s, the specialist insurance and reinsurance market, has appointed Christopher Mackinnon as its new general representative in Australia. Mackinnon starts in early February and brings with him more than 21...
QBE Selling U.S. Agency Businesses to Alliant for $300M
Jan 19 2015 // QBE Insurance Group Ltd. of Australia is selling its U.S. agency businesses to California-based Alliant Services Inc. for about $300 million and exiting the distribution business. The agencies being bought by Alliant...
How AirAsia Investigators Will Use Black Box to Crack Crash Mystery
Jan 14 2015 // Listening to a recording of ValuJet Flight 592’s last moments, investigator J.F. Joseph kept hearing sounds the pilots hadn’t talked about. “You could hear this noise clicking on and off like a pinball...
Australian Firefighters Containing Sprawling Wildfire
Jan 7 2015 // Firefighters in southern Australia were winning the battle on Tuesday to contain a sprawling wildfire raging on a 240-kilometer (150-mile) perimeter that has razed 38 homes and left two people in hospitals, officials...
Australian Wildfire Threat Eases as Cool Front Moves In
Jan 5 2015 // Cooler conditions on Sunday were helping hundreds of firefighters working to contain a massive wildfire that had forced thousands of people to flee their homes in southern Australia. A dozen homes have been destroyed by...
Berkshire Hathaway Specialty Insurance Enters Singapore, Names Key Leaders
Dec 8 2014 // Berkshire Hathaway Specialty Insurance (BHSI) announced that it has received its non-life insurance license in Singapore, and named Marc Breuil as regional president, Marcus Portbury as head of third party lines, and Peter...
Australia Raises El Nino Warning for Tropical Pacific
Nov 18 2014 // Australia raised an El Nino warning after the Pacific Ocean showed renewed signs of the pattern that can bring drought to parts of Asia and heavier-than-usual rain to South America. Climate models suggest current...
Arch Insurance Europe Buys Resource Underwriting Pacific in Australia
Nov 11 2014 // Arch Insurance Europe has acquired 100 percent of Resource Underwriting Pacific Pty Ltd (RUPPL), the Melbourne-based MGA. RUPPL will be added to Arch Insurance Europe’s current holdings in Australia. James...
Undersea Search for Missing Malaysian Airliner Refined
Aug 29 2014 // The massive undersea search area for a missing Malaysian airliner in the southern Indian Ocean could be extended farther south based on new satellite analysis, only weeks before the multimillion dollar, yearlong sonar hunt...
Munich Re Joins Broker Steadfast to Acquire Australia’s Calliden Insurance Operations
Aug 28 2014 // Munich Re’s primary insurance subsidiary Great Lakes Australia (GLA) has reached an agreement to support Australia’s largest broker network, Steadfast Group in their proposed acquisition of Calliden Group...
QBE Wins Time for Cleanup as Plan Reduces Risk: Australia Credit
Aug 27 2014 // QBE Insurance Group Ltd.’s John Neal is shoring up the insurer’s balance sheet by selling shares and assets. He still has work to do convincing bond investors that business is improving after three profit...
