Income Protection Insurance News

Sun, 19 August 2007
MBF To List On ASX
MBF Australia said it intends to demutualise and list on the Australian stock exchange in an attempt to grow and diversify its business. The health insurer said its plans have been endorsed by the MBF Council. It said a share market listing is likely in calendar 2008. The board believes that demutualising is in the best interests of policyholders, that it will maximise MBF's future growth potential and enhance its ability to compete in a rapidly changing environment," chairman John Conde said.

Mon, 20 August 2007
QBE profit surges 56pc
QBE Insurance Group has posted a 56 per cent lift in first-half earnings and says it has plenty of funds to cover any insurance claims in the US arising from damage caused by Hurricane Dean. The company also said it is looking at further acquisitions and upgraded its calendar 2007 insurance profit forecast. QBE's first-half net profit was $921 million, up 56 per cent on the same period last year. Chief executive Frank O'Halloran said the outlook for the rest of the year was positive.

Tue, 04 September 2007
HBA wants a health check on MBF's plans for listing
THE owner of health insurer HBA is seeking regulatory approval to persuade rival insurer MBF to abandon its listing plans for a friendly takeover. British United Provident Association (BUPA) has applied to the Australian Competition and Consumer Commission and the Foreign Investment Review Board for permission to discuss a takeover for MBF, which a fortnight ago revealed plans to demutualise and list on the stock exchange.

Fri, 16 November 2007
ING Australia CEO to take up new role
ING Australia’s current Chief Executive Officer Paul Bedbrook is to relocate to Hong Kong by May 1, 2008 to take up the role of Regional CEO for ING Insurance Asia/Pacific.

In his new role Mr Bedbrook will have responsibility for Australia, New Zealand, Japan, and Malaysia, as well as regional responsibility for bancassurance. He will also have overall responsibility for ING’s 51% interest in ING Australia, the wealth management joint venture formed in 2002 between ING Group and ANZ Bank.

Mr Bedbrook was appointed CEO of ING Australia in July 2003. Prior to this he spent three years as CEO of ING Direct in Canada, taking the business from its start up phase to strong growth and profitability.

Mon, 07 January 2008
New survey reveals staggering finance figures
Almost half of all Australians have no insurance and close to a third are worried about their financial future, a new survey by Citibank reveals.

The research also found 19 per cent of Australians would last only one week on their current savings if they lost their job, 45 per cent would last up to four weeks and only 23 per cent could last more than three months.

"Life is unpredictable. You never know what could happen to your job, home or possessions and the only way to protect yourself is to get an adequate level of insurance," said Citibank's sales and wealth management head, Cameron McLeod.

Thu, 06 March 2008
More pain: health premiums set to rise
Federal Health Minister Nicola Roxon has approved a rise in health insurance premiums.

Premiums will rise by an average 4.99 per cent.

Ms Roxon says the rise is necessary and is less than what insurance companies wanted.

"Unfortunately the increase, the average across all of the funds is 4.99 per cent," she said.

"We know that still is going to put a lot of families under pressure, but we are pleased we've been able to deliver a reduction in that increase, and obviously [we] need to make sure that we do all that's possible to ensure that the health funds remain viable."

Opposition health spokesman Joe Hockey says the Government should not have approved a hike above the inflation rate.

"This is a kick in the teeth for Australian families," he said.

"It means that Kevin Rudd is not good for his word.

"It means he has broken his promise to keep private health insurance premiums down.

"It's been a charade and a farce for Nicola Roxon to pretend to stand tall and talk tough with the private health companies."

Western Australia's biggest health insurer, HBF, says its premiums will rise by 3.9 per cent.

A company spokeswoman says the increase is lower than almost all of its competitors, and was approved immediately by the Minister.

The AMA's Queensland president Dr Ross Cartmill, says the rise in premiums is important to help maintain the balance between public and private medicine.

"We need continuation of the mixture of public and private medicine," he said.

"If we don't have that, public medicine would be overwhelmed with patients.

"If that means the insurance industry needs to have a rise in the premiums to maintain its viability, then we have to accept that."

Sun, 25 May 2008
Direct opportunities for life products
New trends in life insurance products will make distribution a key growth area for life companies in the Australian retail market over the next few years, according to a Rice Warner survey.

The survey, which compared 109 direct life products in the UK and other global markets, found the trends are leading many life companies to conduct a ‘re-examination’ of their product and distribution strategy in the retail market.

A key finding was that price competition in the sector, due to an ever-increasing product and feature range, has intensified to the extent that margins are being “squeezed significantly”.

It also found Financial Services Reform advice requirements have made it more expensive for planners to write business and that ultimately this cost must be passed on to insurers and customers.

At the same time, technology has opened up new possibilities in the area of customer data mining and it is rapidly becoming feasible to identify potential life product customers based on demographic profiling.

The surveyed products included term insurance (with full, limited or no underwriting), funeral insurance, mortgage insurance, accident insurance, income protection and trauma insurance.

SOURCE: Liam Egan, Money Management

Wed, 11 June 2008
AIST study to drive income protection sales
Tower Australia is predicting higher levels of income protection-type insurance will flow from the findings of a new Australian Institute of Superannuation Trustees (AIST) study into super life insurance.

Managing director Jim Minto said the study would lead to “much higher levels of income protection type insurance in the future through workplace and super as trustees act on its findings and adjust default covers”.

The study, which highlighted the existence of a wealth protection gap, would also encourage “more individuals over time to purchase additional cover to ensure they have the full protection of this illness risk”, Minto said.

He praised study as a very good piece of work for indicating that vast numbers of Australians, especially in the 30 to 55 year age group, recognise the importance of life and disability insurance – yet remain uninsured.

“It also highlights that for most people their most valuable asset if not their home but their own ability to earn an income in future years.”

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