Allianz, world’s largest insurer, dumps coal

24 November 2015 Allianz Investment Management, the money management arm of the largest insurer in the world, has committed to divesting coal from their portfolios. The firm manages in excess of EUR 600 billion of assets covering the liabilities of the insurer. In an interview with broadcaster ZDF, Chief Investment … Read More

IAG: We Need Climate Leadership

22 October 2015 It dawned on me yesterday at the Insurance Australia Group AGM, just how detached corporate Australia is from reality, when the IAG board became genuinely annoyed by questions related to climate change. If the board of an insurance company does not believe climate change is impacting on its … Read More

How to mismanage climate risk until it hurts

This article first appeared on Renew Economy on 19 October 2015 There’s an old saying that what counts is what gets counted, there’s a less well-known adage that says, what doesn’t get counted can cost you a fortune. The Australian insurance industry is finding out all about that one now because … Read More

Suncorp’s $1bn extreme weather loss. Climate change, anyone?

24 September 2015 Suncorp Group held its Annual General Meeting in Brisbane today and several shareholders pointed out that in the last financial year, Suncorp was hit by losses from natural disasters of $473 million above provisions. The Brisbane hailstorm in November, Cyclone Marcia in February and NSW storms in … Read More