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Insurance

AIG Australia weathering US storm

ALEX DUNNIN  |  THURSDAY, 2 APR 2009
AIG Life Australia has withstood the US financial storm to post record increases in sales and customer loyalty, thanks to a communications program that could raise the standard for the level of disclosure customers expect from their insurers.

Zurich upgrades insurance suite

COMPANY RELEASE  |  WEDNESDAY, 1 APR 2009
Zurich Financial Services Australia improves the pricing of its life insurance products and revamps the firm's software to allow financial advisers to write insurance faster.

Tech unclogs insurance bottlenecks

MICHELLE BALTAZAR  |  TUESDAY, 31 MAR 2009
Insurance underwriting will become less of a headache for financial planners after key insurers introduced automated underwriting into their products, a major leap from the days of error-prone rate books and simple quotation software.

IUS revamps super insurance

RUTH LIEW  |  WEDNESDAY, 11 MAR 2009
"Out with the old, in with the new" is the mantra at IUS this year as the insurance firm rejigs its offerings based on lifestyle adjustments and looks at innovative ways to provide TPD and life cover.

Clients duck for income cover

RUTH LIEW  |  MONDAY, 9 MAR 2009
Australians are taking out income protection in droves as uncertainty from the economic slowdown hits home.

Insurance taxes should be slashed: NIBA

MEDIA RELEASE  |  TUESDAY, 3 MAR 2009
The average household in Victoria pays as much as 50 per cent more in house and contents cover due to government-related insurance taxes, prompting an insurance industry body to call for tax reforms ahead of the bushfire royal commission.

AIG subsidiaries to separate

ALEX DUNNIN  |  TUESDAY, 3 MAR 2009
The record $A157 billion loss reported by AIG in the US and the resultant fourth rescue package from the US Treasury has resulted in the subsidiaries being quarantined into a special purpose vehicle, possibly in preparation for sale through an IPO.

Wide Bay tags Aviva insurance

RUTH LIEW  |  FRIDAY, 20 FEB 2009
Regional banking group Wide Bay Australia has teamed up with Aviva to offer life insurance to its clients.

Allianz pays $500,000 to bushfire sufferers

MICHAEL HOBBS  |  FRIDAY, 13 FEB 2009
Allianz Australia has paid out more than $500,000 to Victoria's bushfire victims and expects the total industry insured damage to reach $1 billion.

Accelerate to improve tele-underwriting

RUTH LIEW  |  THURSDAY, 12 FEB 2009
Tower Australia is looking to upgrade its Accelerate offering in 2009 by fine-tuning its tele-underwriting service to churn out decisions in less than three days.