 |
|
 |
|
|
 |
|
Media Releases |
|
|
20/02/2004, APRA approval puts Assetinsure in business as Australia's new general insurance underwriter
The Australian Prudential Regulation Authority (APRA) has granted
Assetinsure Pty Ltd a general insurance licence. The Australian-owned company will position itself
as a specialist insurer and focus on professional indemnity, financial risks, property and engineering
insurance for the corporate and professional sectors.
Assetinsure CEO, Mr Peter Wedgwood, said today: “The granting of the licence to Assetinsure
should herald the end of a negative phase in the Australian insurance cycle. After the collapse of
HIH and the departure of a number of foreign owned insurers, the Australian market has not been
in a position to fully absorb the demand for certain type of covers.”
Assetinsure becomes the first major new entrant into the market since the HIH collapse.
Assetinsure’s major shareholders are Babcock & Brown and Asset Underwriting. Mr. John Fahey,
past Premier of NSW and former Federal Minister of Finance, is Chairman of the Assetinsure
Group.
Mr Wedgwood said: “APRA has taken a good look at our corporate procedures, underwriting
capabilities and financial strength. With assets of approximately $300 million and shareholders’
funds standing at $70 million, Assetinsure is a well capitalised insurer, capable of providing much
needed capacity immediately.”
He added: “Our presence will be welcomed by the corporate and professional markets, particularly
in the professional indemnity sector where there is a short supply of alternatives. For the past few
years it has concerned the market that more than 50 per cent of professional indemnity risks go into
the London market. It is our view that the service levels outside Australia are not as high as
Australian clients might expect.”
Assetinsure has secured treaty protection with the local reinsurance market and recruited a strong
team of underwriting and administrative professionals, a number of which worked with Gerling
Australia previously.
The business model that the Assetinsure’s Australian investors have applied to their market entry is
unique.
Mr Wedgwood explained: “Given the high cost outlays of a market entry and the capital required for
insurance business in general, and corporate business in particular, we quickly realised that a pure
‘greenfield’ operation would be hardly viable.”
|
|
|
|
|
