Who are the main insurers in Australia?

Written by: David Scott

Overview

Australia has a history of his big general insurance industry that dates back for a long time. The Australian Prudential Regulation Authority (APRA) registered general insurers licensed to have business in Australia, 99 of them are direct insurers and 10 are reinsurer companies. Not surprisingly, four international companies rules almost the 80% of the Australian insurance market namely IAG, Suncorp, QBE and Allianz Additionally there are some smaller companies that we should mention among the key actors. Hollard, Yoiu, and Auto & General. There are among  the first 15 top insurance providers in Australia. They have about 1-3% share of the market.  Insurance in Australia is normally divided into three main categories: life, health and general insurance. Life insurances contain a variety of products and services such as policies that ensure payment upon death, or continuous disability or in trauma.

Get to know the great actors

IAG the biggest insurer in Australia and New Zealand, the group’s businesses generate over 12,6 billion dollars. They have many brands such as  SGIO, SGIC, Swann Insurance, NRMA Insurance, CGU, WFI and Poncho Insurance and NZI, State, AMI and Lumley in New Zealand. IAG says that its purpose is to make your world a safer ,better place.The giant’s purpose is that  if a customer, partner, shareholder or part of the company serves, IAG will make the world safer for you. The company keeps receiving many awards, just to mention a few among the dozens of awards, last year they won the bronze at  Australian Workplace Equality Index (AWEI) for LGBTQ workplace inclusion and the New Zealand Rainbow Tick certification is achieved for providing a safe, welcoming place for people related to their diverse sexual orientation and gender identity. 

Suncorp is one of the oldest provider in the market, its heritage dates back to the beginning of the 19th century, so more the 100 years. At the moment it has almost about four million digital users and paid almost 9 billion claims. In 2019 its brand called Vero won the NIBA Large Insurer of the Year award. The company has the following brands under his name:  Bingle, Cio, Vero, Apia, Aami, Gio. The motto of the company is ’’Building futures and protecting what matters,, and they provide sustainable and responsible services, including wealth products, insurance and services with the famous banks. They are the bigger stakeholders in the field of the home and motor insurance in the general market with 38%. They have nearly 50 billion dollars home insurance , and nearly 12billion of business loans. 

QBE Australia is offering many products to personal, institutional business, and corporate customers. Including home and car  insurance, business solutions, even in special fields like aviation or farming. The company stats that they are prepared for any cases of misfortunate events if they happen, so they fulfil all the needs of customers, for any sudden event that may happen. QBE is also known about charity and its community sponsorships, donations, and volunteer work. 

Allianz is a worldwide known and trusted company, so it is a name we all know. They have about 3 million people insured in Australia by them. The company offers its service since 1890, which means they have a remarkable history. The main fields of insurance they provide are the following: motor, home, CTP, boat insurance, workers compensation, business, corporate, industrial and commercial insurance. Surely it would be hard to find something that Allianz does not cover with some of its insurances. They have spacial brands such as GT insurance, Club marine, Euler Hermes, Primacy, AGCS, Allianz Retire and so on. Until 2000 the name of the company MMI was present, and later they changed the name to Allianz after the giant’s acquisition Since 2006 they are granted a licence by the regulators APRA and ASIC, so it is an internationally recognised and well known company. 

Australia’s insurance industry is highly competitive there are very old participants, and many new competitors has been entering the market. When we are looking for an insurance, it is advised that we decide what type of insurance do we need and we start by a search, because not all the companies provide all the insurances, like the above mentioned giants, but there are smaller companies specialised in travel or home insurance, so we have a wide range of selection and it is recommended to compare the offers they provide.  

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