AMI Insurance ratings moved to stable outlook
14 June 2011
Ratings agency AM Best has maintained troubled New Zealand insurer AMI’s downgraded financial strength ratings following the insurer’s reinsurance negotiations, but changed the ratings…
Corporate
Canadian takes over Guy Carpenter’s local operations
14 June 2011
Reinsurance broker Guy Carpenter has appointed Canadian Jonathan Stephenson as its new Australian MD and CEO of the firm’s Pacific region…
GPG continues to work on insurer sales
14 June 2011
Guinness Peat Group’s new internal investment committee is working to dispose of its stakes in various companies for the best possible price, Chairman Rob Campbell told its AGM in Auckland…
AAMI closes branches as market moves online
06 June 2011
AAMI says its decision to close its national network of offices has been taken because most people now use phone or online facilities to buy insurance…
Reinsurance costs hit Wesfarmers Insurance profits
06 June 2011
Wesfarmers Insurance’s earnings for this financial year will be at the lower end of its recent $60-80 million forecast, due to the cost of reinsurance reinstatements…
Suncorp tight-lipped on reinsurance negotiations
06 June 2011
Suncorp CEO Patrick Snowball has described negotiations with reinsurers over its July 1 renewal as a “Mexican stand-off”…
Zurich opens Sydney underwriting centre
06 June 2011
Zurich General Insurance is set to manage all of its underwriting services for the SME and package business from Sydney…
Questions raised over NZ industry structure and conduct
06 June 2011
Vero New Zealand’s new CEO Gary Dransfield says questions need to be raised over the structure and conduct of the NZ general insurance industry following the earthquakes and “difficulties”…
Brit Insurance now handles property book in Sydney
06 June 2011
Brit Insurance has established a new Lloyd’s service company in Sydney to handle property reinsurance…
Suncorp targets 3% margin increase by next year
30 May 2011
Suncorp’s short-term profitability has been impacted significantly by the year’s natural disasters, but the group’s general insurance business is working towards an increase of at least 3% in…
MYI Freemans changes name to Cerno
30 May 2011
Major loss adjuster MYI Freemans will be known as Cerno from July 1…
Swift switch for Vero NZ CEOs
30 May 2011
Vero NZ’s new CEO Gary Dransfield has taken over the role four months earlier than previously announced…
Earthquake shakes Tower NZ’s results
30 May 2011
Tower NZ has seen its after-tax profit for the half year ending March 2011 fall 54.1% to $NZ12.7 million ($9.7 million)…
Melbourne is new heartland for Lawsons
30 May 2011
Lawsons Underwriting is expanding its operation to Melbourne, saying it’s an exciting opportunity to set up in the “country’s heartland”…
Mondial moves brand to Allianz
30 May 2011
Mondial Assistance Australia is to become Allianz Global Assistance in July as part of a global rebranding…
QBE raises $1.4 billion in debt securities
23 May 2011
QBE has raised about $1.4 billion of debt to support its operations…
NZ Treasury expected Western Pacific to fail
23 May 2011
The directors of Western Pacific Insurance asked the New Zealand Government for urgent support in March, but Treasury officials recommended against helping the company because…
AMI seeks recapitalisation, reinsurance
23 May 2011
Christchurch-based AMI has appointed Goldman Sachs to advise it on a recapitalisation so it can avoid using the New Zealand Government’s $NZ500 million ($373 million) rescue package…
New general counsel at Ace
23 May 2011
Ace Insurance has appointed Jon Downes as its new General Counsel for Australia and New Zealand…
Local catastrophes hit Allianz’s bottom line
16 May 2011
Allianz has become the latest global insurer to suffer a drop in profits due to the recent natural catastrophes in Australia and New Zealand…