Insurance

Insurance customers who want to fight massive premium increases have few options for recourse, with the financial services watchdog refusing to take on some cases.

With so many technological advances, why does it feel like we spend more time doing paperwork than ever before? And who is profiting from all the virtual paper shuffling?

Australia's second-largest private hospital operator has announced it will terminate its contracts with two major private health insurers. 

A motorcyclist who suffered lifelong injuries after losing control on loose gravel has won a legal test case allowing him to claim third-party damages worth $13.5 million.

A former insider calls it the "side hustle" of Australia's superannuation funds – where the handling of thousands of death and disability claims from injured workers and grieving families falls to underpaid, overworked staff away from the main game. 

Just 18 days before Russell Wayne Hirst died of a cardiac event in November 2021, superannuation giant Cbus cancelled his insurance policy, leaving the beneficiary of his account in a year-long fight to have her claim approved.

Muswellbrook has been rocked by more than 50 quakes since August that have damaged buildings, but some home owners have had their insurance claims rejected on the basis the issues were "pre-existing".

RACQ is under the microscope about whether its offers to renew home insurance for customers have properly compared new prices to previous year's premiums.

RACQ has suffered a massive complaints spike, as premiums triple and insurance claims are mishandled so badly that repair contractors robbed a customer.

Not-for-profit fund HCF has broken rank from the other big private health insurers and agreed to pay the state government its full bed rate when its members are given single rooms in public hospitals.

A tool by which people can enter their Hobart address to see how their residence has been assessed for bushfire threat has been updated for the coming Tasmanian season — with one suburb home to 1,727 buildings considered in the most at-risk categories.

The corporate regulator has launched court action over renewal notices sent to more than 500,000 customers that promised discounts that weren't always delivered. QBE has apologised and says it has cooperated with ASIC.

Insurance giant Suncorp has been ordered to ditch a whopping 60 per cent hike of a home insurance premium following a complaint from a disgruntled customer. Consumer advocates say more people need to do the same.

Australians who stick with insurance and power companies out of loyalty or complacency are often paying more than those who shop around, data shows. 

A federal flood insurance inquiry has found evidence of systemic problems during the 2022 floods, including inconsistent decision making, poor-quality expert reports and long delays.

Builders in NSW demand changes to an insurance scheme they say is driving people out of the industry, pushing up costs and holding back housing supply.

Farmers in Australia's largest wine grape growing region are still counting losses from severe frost last month and there is no help on the horizon.

Fed up with the threat of floods, Victorian resident Tuesday Browell is thought to be the first private Australian resident to import war-zone technology to protect her home.

A central Queensland business targeted by thieves six times in 10 months is paying double its usual insurance premium despite installing extra security measures. 

Two cases of alleged fraud have been referred to police after one employee was suspended and seven contract staff were terminated at a Queensland government agency responsible for distributing disaster funding.