Snowball keeps his profile up in UK

Suncorp CEO Patrick Snowball has made clear his wish to return to the UK at the completion of his current contract.

He has used a far-reaching feature in UK insurance publication Post to reveal he is actively networking in the UK “every three to four months” with the intention of returning there in 2013.

Calliden gets settlement in purchase dispute

Calliden Group will receive USD 3.4 million in settlement of its dispute with Australian Unity over the sale of the mutual’s general insurance business.

In 2008, Calliden started proceedings in the NSW Supreme Court over the actuarial valuations of Australian Unity General Insurance and Mansions of Australia businesses that were part of the deal.

Insurance left off climate roundtable

The insurance industry has been left off the Federal Government’s new business roundtable to discuss climate change policies.

The roundtable includes organisations such as the Australian Chamber of Commerce and Industry, the Energy Supply Association of Australia, Australian Industry Group, National Farmers Federation and the Business Council of Australia.

Industry needs to sell itself better

The insurance industry needs to ensure its value and social contribution is better understood by government and the community, according to Suncorp CEO Patrick Snowball.

He says the amount paid out in claims by the industry each year is not dissimilar to the Federal Government’s economic stimulus package.

Suncorp sets sights on commercial market growth

Suncorp’s share of the commercial insurance market is primed to grow solidly over the next three years, according to divisional CEO Anthony Day.

The commercial insurance operations of Suncorp increased gross written premium by 4 percent last financial year to $2.45 billion – a trend which should continue through to 2013, Mr Day says in the company’s annual report to shareholders.

Suncorp sets sights on commercial market growth

Suncorp’s share of the commercial insurance market is primed to grow solidly over the next three years, according to divisional CEO Anthony Day.

The commercial insurance operations of Suncorp increased gross written premium by 4% last financial year to $2.45 billion – a trend which should continue through to 2013, Mr Day says in the company’s annual report to shareholders.

Plans for dealing with disasters welcomed

The Federal Government has agreed to spend USD 12.5 million on disaster resilience initiatives in Queensland, SA and WA.

The funding will be spend on projects to reduce communities’ vulnerability to natural hazards, building partnerships between sectors, encouraging a regional approach to mitigation initiatives and considering potential impacts due to climate change.

Bank of Japan Cuts Interest Rates, Yen Weakens

The Bank of Japan cut its interest rates today to virtually zero and announced its asset purchase program. The decision to add stimulus was rather unexpected and the yen dropped against the euro and the Great Britain pound. The dollar weakness allowed the Japanese currency managed to outperform its US counterpart.

Matcham takes over at reinsurance pool

The Australian Reinsurance Pool Corporation (ARPC) has appointed former Lumley chief David Matcham to the role of CEO. Mr Matcham, who takes over from Neil Weeks tomorrow, spent more than 32 years at Lumley – 10 of them as CEO – before he left in June 2009.

Prudential shares fall on $4.2B acquisition

Shares of Prudential Financial Inc. fell Thursday after the company said it agreed to pay USD 4.2 billion in cash for two Japanese life insurance units owned by AIG.

THE SPARK: American International Group Inc. is selling the units as part of its broader plan to repay government bailout money. The deal between AIG and Prudential includes USD 600,000 in third-party debt, bringing its total value to approximately USD 4.8 billion.