QBE on a spending spree
01 December 2008
QBE has bought five insurance operations worth $US695 million ($1.06 billion) and has issued a $2 billion share placement to help fund the acquisitions...
Corporate
… and may be checking out IAG’s UK assets
01 December 2008
QBE Europe thinks it can do a better job than IAG in making personal lines motor insurer Equity Red Star pay, according to speculation in UK media outlet Insurance Age...
IAG increases stake in Malaysian insurer
01 December 2008
IAG will increase its stake in the general insurance side of Malaysian business AmAssurance from 30% to the maximum foreign investment limit of 49%, the company announced today...
… as joint venture ends New India’s run
01 December 2008
The IAG-State Bank of India joint venture will bleed premium income from the country’s largest insurer, New India Assurance, at the rate of Rs2 billion ($61.9 million) a year…
Tower records profit in difficult market conditions
01 December 2008
Life insurer Tower Australia has posted a 69% increase in net reported profit to $68.7 million in its full-year financial results to 30 September...
JLT faces big gain from competitive NZ personal injury market
01 December 2008
Jardine Lloyd Thompson Australia will be among the first private insurance providers to benefit from a competitive New Zealand personal injury market after taking an equity share…
Vero wins the gold in NZ business awards
01 December 2008
Vero NZ has won the gold medal for the best business practice at the NZ Business Excellence Awards...
New financial year ‘encouraging’ says Austbrokers
24 November 2008
Cluster group Austbrokers has reported an encouraging start to the new financial year, and expects stable rates to prevail for the remaining three quarters of 2008/09...
Insurance the focus for Axa
24 November 2008
Axa Asia Pacific is banking on a good performance from its insurance lines as plunging markets take their toll on wealth management income...
Tower NZ net profit climbs 17%
24 November 2008
New Zealand insurance and investments provider Tower Limited has banked $NZ40.5 million ($34.3 million) for the year as growth among insurance portfolios helped push revenue…
… while Tower Australia simplifies its life products
24 November 2008
Tower Australia is revamping a number of its life insurance products to make them more simple for financial advisers and their clients...
Austbrokers operations merge
24 November 2008
Austbrokers ALIB has merged with BHI Insurance Brokers, with the combined operation renamed Austbrokers RIS...
IBA becomes Uniba Partners
24 November 2008
Local members of a major global broking organisation are quietly marking the International Insurance Brokers Association changing its name to Uniba Partners...
IAG confirms joint venture with Indian banking giant
24 November 2008
IAG today confirmed it has sealed its $170 million joint venture with the State Bank of India and may extend its stake to 49% of the business...
IAG eyes growth markets
17 November 2008
IAG CEO Mike Wilkins says the insurer will use “selective acquisitions” to help propel growth after the company completes the restructure of its Australian operations...
Strong lashes out at QBE ‘shotgun’
17 November 2008
IAG Chairman James Strong has defended his board’s decision to reject QBE’s acquisition proposal earlier this year...
Wesfarmers still on the takeover trail
17 November 2008
Wesfarmers Insurance is still going for growth, with Group CEO Richard Goyder describing the economic environment as “likely to benefit well-capitalised businesses such as ours”...
Business is booming at Ebix
17 November 2008
International insurance software and online exchange provider Ebix has reported a record third-quarter net profit of $US7.4 million ($11.2 million), 88% higher than last year’s result...
AMI bucks the downward trend
17 November 2008
NZ’s AMI Insurance has bucked the financial trend by posting good results for last financial year – although it doesn’t expect to do so well this year...
AMP set to cut jobs, freeze pay
10 November 2008
An email leaked to insuranceNEWS.com.au shows financial services giant AMP is freezing staff pay and will slash jobs in order to reduce costs...