Latest Australia Headlines
All the headlines from our Australia Topic Page, ordered by recency.
Australia Bushfies ‘a Climate Change Wake-up Call’ Say Experts
Feb 10 2009 // Weekend bushfires in Australia that killed 173 people are a climate change wake-up call for the public and politicians and a window to the future, experts said on Tuesday. With the death toll still growing from the...
Australia Police Declare Bushfire Disaster a ‘Crime Scene’
Feb 10 2009 // Australian police treated the country’s entire bushfire disaster zone as a crime scene on Tuesday as investigators combed through a blackened wasteland to find clues to the culprits behind the country’s...
Risk Management Solutions Issues Initial Report on Australia Bushfires
Feb 10 2009 // A report from Risk Management Solutions states that the current rash of bushfires in Australia is “one of its worst outbreaks of wildfires ever, with whole towns almost completely destroyed and over one hundred...
Australian Bushfires Kill 131, Dozens More Missing
Feb 9 2009 // Weary firefighters and rescuers pulled the remains of dozens of people from charred buildings on Monday as the death toll rose to 131 from Australia’s deadliest bushfires. “Everybody’s gone....
Australian Wife Charged with Murder for Setting Husband on Fire
Jan 7 2009 // An Australian woman in Adelaide has been charged with murder after allegedly setting her husband’s genitals on fire because she thought he was having an affair. Prosecutors told the Adelaide Magistrates Court on...
UK’s Chartered Insurance Institute Drops Australian Merger Plans
Dec 19 2008 // The UK’s Chartered Insurance Institute said in a brief statement that it has “has decided to terminate the proposed merger with the Australian professional body ANZIIF after a number of financial discrepancies...
S&P Affirms Insurance Australia Group’s Ratings; ERM is ‘Strong’
Dec 17 2008 // Standard & Poor’s Ratings Services has affirmed its ‘AA-‘ ratings on Insurance Australia Group Ltd.’s (IAG) core operating companies, including Insurance Australia Ltd. and IAG New Zealand...
Aspen to Open Australia Branch
Dec 16 2008 // Bermuda-based Aspen Insurance Holdings Limited announced that its subsidiary, Aspen Insurance UK Limited, has been authorized by the Australian Prudential Regulation Authority to operate as a branch insurer to underwrite...
Aon Names Finnamore for Risk Management in Far East, Asia, Australia
Dec 15 2008 // Aon Corp. announced that Jim Finnamore will join the firm in January as regional director of Aon Environmental Services Group, Asia-Pacific. He will be based in Singapore and will coordinate the delivery of the...
AXIS Capital to Acquire Managing General Agent Dexta
Dec 10 2008 // Bermuda-based AXIS Capital Holdings Limited announced that it has agreed to acquire the business and operations of Australian managing general agent Dexta Corporation Pty Ltd. from its shareholders, Ironbridge Capital,...
Catlin Strengthens Product Recall Teams in Sydney, London
Dec 3 2008 // The Bermuda-based Catlin Group Limited announced that it has “significantly strengthened its leadership position in crisis management underwriting with the addition of two experienced product recall insurance...
IAG Estimates Queensland Storm Claims at $38 to $44 Million
Nov 24 2008 // The Insurance Australia Group Limited (IAG) announced that it has received around 6,000 claims as a result of the storms that hit southeast Queensland (See IJ web site –...
Storms Tear through Eastern Australia; One Death Reported
Nov 18 2008 // A series of violent storms tore across Australia’s East Coast, sweeping one man down a storm drain to his death, blowing roofs off houses and knocking out power to hundreds of thousands of buildings. Sunday’s...
S&P Says QBE, PMI Australia Ratings, Outlooks Unchanged
Oct 24 2008 // Standard & Poor’s Ratings Services said that its ‘A-‘ rating on Australia’s QBE Insurance Group Ltd. and its ‘A+’ ratings on QBE’s core operating entities remain unchanged...
PMI Completes Sale of Australian Mortgage Insurance Unit to QBE
Oct 23 2008 // The California-based PMI Group announced that it has completed the sale of its Australian mortgage insurance subsidiary and related Australian holding company to QBE Insurance Group Limited. “The aggregate sale price...
AIG: Picking at the Pieces
Oct 6 2008 // Speculation Abounds as AIG Readies to Sell Off Assets For the moment, giant American International Group (AIG) lives on government life support, for which it’s paying 850 basis points (8.5 percent) over LIBOR,...
Japan Insurers, QBE Seen Eyeing AIG Assets; China Less Likely
Sep 17 2008 // Japan’s well-capitalized and acquisitive insurers and Australia’s top player are seen as potential buyers if reeling U.S. heavyweight AIG sells assets, analysts and fund managers said. However, China’s...
Best Affirms QBE’s ‘A’ Ratings
Aug 29 2008 // A.M. Best Co. has affirmed the financial strength rating of ‘A’ (Excellent) and issuer credit rating (ICR) of “a+” of UK-based QBE Insurance (Europe) Limited , QBE Insurance (International) Limited...
Ratings Roundup: Stoneheath Re, Insurance Australia, Toa Re
Aug 26 2008 // A.M. Best Co. has removed from under review with negative implications and affirmed the debt rating of “bb+” on $350 million non-cumulative perpetual preferred securities (preferred securities) issued by...
QBE’s First Half Results Show Gains
Aug 22 2008 // Australia’s QBE Insurance Group’s financial report for the six months ended June 30, 2008 showed increases in most areas, compared to 2007. QBE cited the following figures: — Insurance profit was up 6...
