Swiss Re on squeezed margins
After recording a 31% jump in CY15 group net income ( CN 25/02/16 ), Swiss Re this week reported a 14.65% 1Q16 slump on 1Q15, to $US1.2bn ($A1.6bn). The reinsurer recorded a 3.2 percentage point drop...
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Editor: Eva Wiland. Email eva.wiland@thomsonreuters.com. Contributing Editor: Kate Tilley. Journalist: John Reynolds. Managing Editor: Helen Jones. Twitter: @Cover_NoteTR.
View ArticleLawyer immunity remains: HCA
The High Court (HCA) has refused to overturn a long-held immunity for lawyers who provide negligent advice to clients during court proceedings. HCA's full bench said two previous HCA decisions that...
View ArticleASIC keeps finding life breaches
Life insurance advice breaches continue to surface in the face of ASIC's life advice review ( CN 30/10/14 ) and industry reform action ( CN 25/06/15 ) . This week, ASIC accepted an enforceable...
View ArticleFormer CBA planner charged
Former CBA financial planner (FP) Ricky David Gillespie, 38, has been charged in Southport Magistrates Court on one rolled-up charge, after an ASIC investigation alleging he forged 31 documents. ASIC...
View ArticleATO targets SMSF tax schemes
The Australian Tax Office (ATO) is targeting people who divert income earned from personal services to SMSFs to minimise or avoid tax. An ATO alert says officers will investigate arrangements where...
View ArticleQld retains NIIS common law rights
The Qld Law Society (QLS) says the Qld Government's commitment to maintaining choice in implementing the national injury insurance scheme (NIIS) ( CN 03/03/16 ) is a “win for common sense and the...
View ArticleQBE maintains lead with $19.8bn GWP
QBE maintained its lead of Australia's direct insurance groups in CY15 with a consolidated gross written policy (GWP) revenue of $19.8bn and $924.2m net profit, APRA's latest General insurance...
View ArticleReinsurance capital ‘starts to blur'
Reinsurers are increasingly seeking alternative capital to offset a decline in traditional markets, the latest Willis Re Reinsurance Market Report says. It found alternative capital and traditional...
View ArticleAMP in major life business overhaul
AMP is planning a major overhaul of its life business by consolidating its two life companies, AMP CEO Craig Meller revealed at last week's AGM. He said AMP would seek regulatory approvals to...
View ArticleCourt winds up Aust Ponzi scheme
Six months after ASIC obtained orders to freeze the assets of five companies involved in an Australian Ponzi scheme, which has sucked in retirement savings, the Federal Court has ordered their wind up....
View ArticleWickham boss banned for life
ASIC has permanently banned former Wickham Securities chair and bankrupt Bradley Thomas Sherwin from providing financial advice. Sherwin founded Sherwin Financial Planners, now in liquidation. The...
View ArticlePeople
Zurich has appointed Hilary Bates its chief general insurance claims officer across Australia and NZ. She was previously QBE strategy and technical head ... TAL has appointed Dr Sally Phillips to a...
View ArticleLife revenue continues to fall
Total life revenue for the year ended March plummeted 72.3% on the previous corresponding year to $15.4bn, APRA's latest quarterly statistics show . March qtr revenue was $2.3bn, compared with $12bn in...
View ArticleMcMurray counts wildfire losses
AIR Worldwide estimates insured losses from the Fort McMurray wildfires in Alberta ( CN 12/05/16 ) in the $C4.4bn-9bn ($A4.7bn-9.4bn) range, making them Canada's costliest natural disaster. On May 19,...
View ArticleMunich Re 1Q result slumps
Munich Re has reported a slump in its reinsurance results for 1Q of CY16 as its contribution to consolidated results fell 33.4% to €445m ($A692.3m). Gross written premium (GWP) was down 3.9% to €6.7bn...
View ArticleEditorial team
Editor: Eva Wiland. Email eva.wiland@thomsonreuters.com. Contributing Editor: Kate Tilley. Journalist: John Reynolds. Managing Editor: Helen Jones. Twitter: @Cover_NoteTR.
View ArticleSuper balances in ‘fragile' recovery
Investors' super fund balances are still recovering from the early-2016 market turbulence, SuperRatings says. The median balanced option returned 1.4% in April. Financial year-to-date returns were kept...
View ArticleClub owner's damages hiked
A Vic strip club owner has been awarded $250,000 in damages after a Melbourne newspaper and a journalist accused her of being a brothel madam. That replaces $90,000 awarded by the Vic Supreme Court...
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