INSURANCE PREMIUMS – AUSTRALIA

LA bushfires spark insurance hike warning

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Original article by Summer Liu
The Australian – Page: 7 : 14-Jan-25

The Insurance Council of Australia’s 2023-24 Catastrophe Resilience report shows that the nation’s average insured losses from bushfires totalled $220m per year over the last three decades. However, this has increased to more than $560m in the past five years. Alix Pearce from the ICA says factors such as worsening extreme weather, inflationary pressures and global reinsurance prices are putting upwards pressure on insurance premium across Australia. There are fears that the catastrophic wildfires in Los Angeles will result in further increases in Australians’ insurance premiums.

CORPORATES
INSURANCE COUNCIL OF AUSTRALIA LIMITED

LA bushfires spark insurance hike warning

roymorgansocial Leave a comment

Original article by Summer Liu
The Australian – Page: 7 : 14-Jan-25

The Insurance Council of Australia’s 2023-24 Catastrophe Resilience report shows that the nation’s average insured losses from bushfires totalled $220m per year over the last three decades. However, this has increased to more than $560m in the past five years. Alix Pearce from the ICA says factors such as worsening extreme weather, inflationary pressures and global reinsurance prices are putting upwards pressure on insurance premium across Australia. There are fears that the catastrophic wildfires in Los Angeles will result in further increases in Australians’ insurance premiums.

CORPORATES
INSURANCE COUNCIL OF AUSTRALIA LIMITED

Insurance premiums rise faster than Australia’s inflation, spurred by frequent extreme weather

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Original article by Josh Nicholas, Jonathan Barrett
The Guardian Australia – Page: Online : 6-Feb-24

The latest inflation data shows that insurance premiums have risen by 16.2 per cent over the last year. In contrast, the annual inflation rate was just 4.1 per cent. An Insurance Council of Australia spokesperson says factors such as the rising cost of natural disasters are contributing to the spike in premiums. Reinsurers are also taking into account the impact of climate change when setting their prices, and any such increases are ultimately passed on insurance companies’ customers.

CORPORATES
INSURANCE COUNCIL OF AUSTRALIA LIMITED

Medibank pays back unused $105m

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Original article by Liam Walsh
The Australian Financial Review – Page: 20 : 30-Jun-21

Private health insurer Medibank expects about two million customers of its flagship and ahm brands to be eligible for a discount on their next premium payment. Medical procedures such as elective surgery were cancelled in 2020 due to the COVID-19 pandemic, preventing policyholders from making full use of their private health coverage. HBF is among the other health funds that have previously revealed plans to return some money to its members.

CORPORATES
MEDIBANK PRIVATE LIMITED – ASX MPL, AHM HEALTH INSURANCE, HBF HEALTH LIMITED

Climate risk to hit insurance premiums

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Original article by David Ross
The Australian – Page: 15 : 4-Jan-21

The results of an Australian Competition and Consumer Commission inquiry into insurance in Northern Australia were released in the week ending 1 January. The ACCC has called on the federal government to directly subsidise insurance premiums in Australia’s tropical north, with some insurance companies stating in submissions to the inquiry that they expect to start pricing for climate change risks for customers in that part of the nation. The ACCC noted that home insurance premium growth across northern Australia rose 178 per cent between 2007 and 2019, compared to a 52 per cent rise in the rest of the country over the same period. The ACCC also called for the scrapping of stamp duty on insurance products, which is imposed by state and territory governments.

CORPORATES
AUSTRALIAN COMPETITION AND CONSUMER COMMISSION

Shorten’s secret vow on health cap

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Original article by Joe Kelly
The Australian – Page: 1 & 6 : 16-Jul-18

Labor has previously announced plans to impose a two per cent cap on health insurance premium increases. However, Opposition leader Bill Shorten is understood to have told the Members Health Fund Alliance – which represents 23 small funds that cover 1.7 million Australians – that its members would not be affected by the proposed cap. Labor sources have indicated that the cap is aimed more at larger health insurance providers, and that imposing it on smaller providers would lead to more consolidation in the sector.

CORPORATES
AUSTRALIAN LABOR PARTY, MEMBERS HEALTH FUNDS ALLIANCE, AUSTRALIA. DEPT OF HEALTH, AUSTRALIA. PRODUCTIVITY COMMISSION, PRIVATE HEALTHCARE AUSTRALIA LIMITED

HBF exits policy ranking websites

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Original article by Sarah-Jane Tasker
The Australian – Page: 3 : 14-May-18

HBF has estimated that comparison websites received more than $A150m in commissions from private health insurers in 2016-17. HBF CEO John Van Der Wielen believes that the cost of using comparison websites is contributing to a rise in health insurance premiums. The not-for-profit fund will cease marketing its products via comparison websites. The Australian Competition & Consumer Commission’s deputy chair Delia Rickard says many consumers may not be aware that health insurers pay commissions to attract new customers.

CORPORATES
HBF HEALTH LIMITED, AUSTRALIAN COMPETITION AND CONSUMER COMMISSION, BUPA AUSTRALIA PTY LTD, PRIVATE HEALTH INSURANCE INTERMEDIARIES ASSOCIATION INCORPORATED

Health premium rises tipped

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Original article by Sarah-Jane Tasker, Rachel Baxendale
The Australian – Page: 15 : 18-Jan-18

There is speculation that private health insurance premiums will rise by an average of four per cent in 2018. Macquarie Group analysts estimate that Medibank and NIB will increase their premiums by an average of 3.85 per cent and 3.8 per cent respectively. Macquarie has increased its share price targets for both insurers. Federal Health Minister Greg Hunt expects the lowest increase in health insurance premiums for 17 years. He will announce the premium increases in the next several weeks.

CORPORATES
MEDIBANK PRIVATE LIMITED – ASX MPL, NIB HOLDINGS LIMITED – ASX NHF, MACQUARIE GROUP LIMITED – ASX MQG, AUSTRALIA. DEPT OF HEALTH, AUSTRALIAN MEDICAL ASSOCIATION LIMITED

Social media drives up insurance costs

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Original article by James Frost
The Australian Financial Review – Page: 17 : 11-Dec-17

The insurance sector is seemingly an industry under siege, with its inclusion in Australia’s royal commission into the financial services sector its latest woe. Online calculators and comparison sites are making it easier for consumers to switch policies. Richard Enthoven, the chairman of insurance company Greenstone and the founder of insurance firm Hollard, points to social media as another cause of the industry’s problems. He contends that the practice of unhappy insurance customers complaining about their experience on Facebook and the like is pushing up the cost of insurance premiums.

CORPORATES
GREENSTONE LIMITED, HOLLARD INSURANCE GROUP, COMMONWEALTH BANK OF AUSTRALIA – ASX CBA, FACEBOOK INCORPORATED, TWITTER INCORPORATED, INSTAGRAM LLC, COMMINSURE, KPMG AUSTRALIA PTY LTD

Westpac ‘rips off clients’ with life insurance

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Original article by Anthony Klan
The Australian – Page: 1 & 6 : 13-Oct-17

Shine Lawyers is leading a class action against Westpac and its BankSA, St George and Bank of Melbourne subsidiaries. The legal action alleges that Westpac charges more for life insurance policies when taken out through a Westpac financial planner than through a non-Westpac planner. Janice Shaddler of Shine says the Westpac customers it is representing are feeling "incredibly let down" for having trusted their Westpac adviser to do the right thing by them. A spokesman for Westpac says it will investigate the allegations.

CORPORATES
WESTPAC BANKING CORPORATION – ASX WBC, BANK OF SOUTH AUSTRALIA LIMITED, ST GEORGE BANK LIMITED, BANK OF MELBOURNE LIMITED, SHINE LAWYERS, SHINE CORPORATE LIMITED – ASX SHJ, AUSTRALIA AND NEW ZEALAND BANKING GROUP LIMITED – ASX ANZ, NATIONAL AUSTRALIA BANK LIMITED – ASX NAB, COMMONWEALTH BANK OF AUSTRALIA – ASX CBA