Australia News

Typhoon Ketsana Kills 38 in Vietnam; Flood Threat

The biggest floods in decades threatened Vietnam’s central provinces on Wednesday following a powerful typhoon that swept into the country after wreaking havoc in the Philippines. The government said 38 people had died and 10 were missing in floods and …

Report: Australian Court Allows Claims against Lehman Brothers

An Australian court has ruled that local governments can pursue financial claims against collapsed U.S. investment bank Lehman Brothers in Australia and elsewhere, a firm that is funding the litigation said on Monday. IMF (Australia) Ltd. said the Federal Court …

Dust Storm Blankets Sydney as Drought Bites

A huge outback dust storm swept eastern Australia and blanketed Sydney on Wednesday, disrupting transport, forcing people indoors and stripping thousands of tons of valuable farmland topsoil. The dust blacked out the outback town of Broken Hill on Tuesday, forcing …

People

Louisiana-based insurance wholesaler, Specialty Risk Associates Inc., announced several changes to its management team. Thomas Garland was named chief operating officer. Garland joined Specialty Risk in 2004 as vice president of Marketing and Underwriting responsible for the coordination of marketing …

Reinsurers’ Rendezvous Reveals Reflection; Sea Level Rise Imperil Coasts; Pirates Ahoy!

The world’s reinsurers gathered in Monte Carlo over the first weekend in September for their annual conclave. This year’s meetings were calm by comparison with prior years — no hurricanes ravaging Florida, and a financial crisis that’s eased, leaving the …

Aon, Partner Re Release Latest Hazard & Risk Review at Monte Carlo

Aon Benfield and PartnerRe have released their annual re/insurance industry report, Hazard & Risk Science Review 2009, which showcases the latest developments in the field of natural hazard and risk science. The Review, which is co-sponsored by Aon Benfield and …

Wildfires Wreak Havoc around the World

Australia, Canada, Spain, France, Italy, Greece, California: They’ve all experienced devastating wildfires. Is there a connection? In February bush fires swept through large parts of the state of Victoria, killing 173 people and destroying more than 2,000 homes. The fires …

Burke Joins Arkansas’ Stephens Insurance

Patrick J. Burke has been appointed as a senior vice president with Stephens Insurance LLC, based in Little Rock, Ark. Burke has spent the last 30 years advising select utilities and utilities mutual insurance companies. He has designed risk coverage …

Coastal Home Owners Face Huge Losses from Rising Seas

Australians Lesley and Doug McGrath have for decades battled ocean swells that have eaten away at the backyard of their multi-million dollar Sydney home. They bought an old beach shack on Collaroy Beach in 1976 and replaced it with a …

AIR Analyzes Strong Indonesian Quake

A major earthquake struck off the coast of Indonesia’s main island of Java at 2:55 p.m. local time (07:55 UTC) on Wednesday. The U.S. Geological Survey (USGS) originally issued a preliminary magnitude estimate of 7.4 for the event, but has …