Australia

The Insurance Council of Australia has submitted a revised General Insurance Code of Practice to ASIC that would write its obligations into consumer contracts and automatically accept home and motor property claims left undecided for 12 months, while AFCA's 2025-26 review recorded 36,022 general insurance complaints, up 5%, with claim delays up 25% to 8,246.

TAL, the Australian life insurer owned by Japan's Dai-ichi Life, proposed on October 19, 2026 to buy the roughly 79.5% of Challenger it does not already own at A$11.80 a share, a 19.8% premium valuing Challenger at a little under A$8 billion; the proposal is non-binding and conditional on due diligence, approvals and a shareholder vote.

After the Financial Times reported in August 2026 that Tokio Marine had picked Suncorp as its preferred acquisition target, Suncorp told the ASX on October 1 that it was not in takeover discussions and had received no offer, leaving a story built on unnamed sources, no stated price and a long list of approvals.

TAL Dai-ichi Life Australia, a subsidiary of Japan's Daiichi Life Group, has made a non-binding indicative proposal to buy the remaining 79.5% of Challenger at A$11.80 per share through a scheme of arrangement, subject to due diligence, final terms and regulatory approvals.

On July 7, 2026 APRA finalised amendments to its general insurance reinsurance framework, effective January 1, 2027, making alternative reinsurance arrangements easier to access and reducing approval requirements, with updated reporting forms due in the test environment in September 2026.

In a letter dated September 30, 2026, ASIC Commissioner Alan Kirkland told insurer boards it will review for-profit claims management firms, found that no sampled motor insurer explained why premiums changed, and said at least 63% of finalised Cyclone Jasper home claims included a cash settlement.

Health Minister Mark Butler re-introduced a bill on October 15 removing the age-based private health insurance rebate uplift from April 1, 2027, a day after the Senate removed it from the notice paper by 38 votes to 23.

September labour force data show the highest jobless rate in about five years, with employment falling when economists expected a gain, just after the Reserve Bank lifted the cash rate to 4.60%.

The Reserve Bank's October Financial Stability Review finds strong bank capital and a well-capitalised insurance sector under weather pressure, while APRA's stress test shows the home insurance protection gap widening.

Australia's corporate regulator has set its 2026-27 general insurance priorities, finding that no sampled motor insurer explained premium changes and that at least 63% of finalised Cyclone Jasper claims included cash settlements.

Australia's prudential regulator proposed in July to amend ten prudential standards, fifteen reporting standards and two practice guides, with submissions closed on August 21, finalisation expected in November and most changes starting January 1, 2027.

ASIC secured $830 million in court-ordered civil penalties and $644 million in consumer remediation in 2025-26, against $104.1 million in penalties the year before; insurance-related actions include the $23.5 million Cbus trustee penalty over claims delays and cases against Hollard and RACQ Insurance, and insurance complaints and claims handling remain a 2026 priority.

On March 31, 2026 APRA finalised amendments letting life insurers use an 'advanced illiquidity premium' to set capital for longevity products, with added governance, reporting and asset controls and a 45% floor kept after consultation; the changes took effect on July 1, 2026.

APRA's readiness letter of March 25, 2026 says funds must receive and allocate employer contributions, or return them, within three business days from July 1, 2026; the ATO estimates unpaid super topped A$6 billion in the last financial year, and SuperStream 3.0 starts on the same date.

Zurich Financial Services Australia acquired ClearView Wealth on August 20, 2026 through a scheme of arrangement at A$0.60 cash per share, about A$385 million, after approval from the ACCC, APRA, shareholders and the NSW Supreme Court, and will run Zurich, OnePath and ClearView as separate life insurance propositions.

Insurance Australia Group, through its venture arm Firemark Ventures, made an undisclosed investment in Sonder, a round-the-clock mental health, medical and safety platform it plans to extend to customers of NRMA Insurance, CGU, WFI and ROLLiN' during major incidents.

In a letter dated May 2026 and signed by Commissioner Simone Constant, ASIC said misuse of frontier AI could expose vulnerabilities faster and at greater scale; it urges firms to patch quickly, limit exposure, test incident plans and table the letter at the board.

APRA data to March 2026 show householders insurance earning about $4.25 billion of quarterly premium yet slipping into underwriting losses in four of ten quarters, while average premiums rose 51% between 2020 and late 2025.

APRA's March 2026 quarterly statistics, released May 28, show total superannuation assets of A$4,437.9 billion, down 1.0% on the quarter and up 7.9% on the year, with contributions up 11.3% and benefit payments up 12.3%.

APRA finalised targeted changes to its CPS 230 operational risk standard on April 30, 2026, exempting material arrangements with certain non-traditional service providers from specific contract terms where compliance is not practicable, effective July 1, 2026.