| Off-Road Demand Pushes Australian Motorcycle Sales Higher Tue, 21 Jul: Australia’s new motorcycle market has carried its early-year momentum into the halfway mark of 2026, with fresh industry figures showing FCAI member brands sold 46,023 motorcycles, scooters and off-highway vehicles between January and June. That represents an 8.2 per cent lift on the same period in 2025, when 42,549 units were reported. - read more
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| Broker Remuneration Debate Puts Disclosure on the Agenda Tue, 21 Jul: The debate over Australia’s draft Insurance Brokers Code of Practice has intensified, with industry and consumer voices questioning whether the proposed changes go far enough on remuneration disclosure and conflict management. For real estate agencies, the issue is not abstract. Many agencies rely on intermediated advice when arranging professional indemnity, public liability, management liability, cyber cover, office insurance and commercial motor policies. - read more
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| Overseas Medical Emergency Puts Travel Insurance Back in Focus Tue, 21 Jul: A recent Australian travel insurance case has offered a sharp reminder that the most expensive travel risk is often the one no traveller expects. According to Finder, an Australian woman who became seriously ill while 19 weeks pregnant in Mallorca faced medical costs of more than $40,000 after being taken to hospital by ambulance. The ambulance component alone reportedly reached $12,000, with the remaining costs linked to hospital admission, testing and treatment. - read more
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| What Unfair Trading Reform Could Mean for Small Business Insurance Claims Tue, 21 Jul: Australia’s latest unfair trading practices reform has opened a fresh debate for the insurance sector, with small business advocates and insurers watching closely to see whether the new rules will eventually extend into business-to-business dealings. - read more
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| What Victoria’s Bushfire Loss Estimate Means for Restaurant Cover Tue, 21 Jul: Australia’s latest bushfire loss update offers a practical warning for restaurant, café and hospitality operators: natural catastrophe risk is not confined to homes, farms or large industrial sites. Perils has lifted its estimate for the January 2026 Victorian bushfires to $860 million, with commercial properties accounting for the largest share of insured losses. - read more
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| What QBE and Blue Zebra’s Motor Partnership Means for Operators Tue, 21 Jul: QBE and Blue Zebra have extended their motor underwriting partnership, with Blue Zebra confirming a new multi-year agreement after the previous arrangement expired. QBE has been underwriting Blue Zebra’s commercial and private motor products since July last year, following the end of the agency’s earlier arrangement with Youi. - read more
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| Income Protection Claim Dispute Offers Lessons for Tradies Tue, 21 Jul: A new Australian Financial Complaints Authority decision has put income protection claims under the spotlight, with useful lessons for tradies who rely on their own capacity to work. The dispute involved a delivery driver who had received weekly income protection benefits after a serious arm-related medical condition prevented him from working. The insurer later tried to recover more than $31,000 in paid benefits, arguing it had information suggesting he could have returned to work earlier. - read more
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| Super Fund Service Falls Short for Many Australians Tue, 21 Jul: Australians are often told to compare superannuation funds by returns, fees and insurance, but a new customer service assessment suggests another factor deserves attention: how well a fund responds when members actually need help. - read more
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| New CHU Green Grants Signal a Shift for Strata Risk Tue, 21 Jul: CHU Underwriting Agencies has launched its inaugural Green Grant Program, distributing $50,000 across seven strata communities on 16 July 2026. The initiative is modest in scale, with grants capped at $10,000 per successful application, but it points to a larger change in the way strata insurance risk is being discussed. Instead of focusing only on premium increases after extreme weather or building losses, insurers are increasingly looking at practical ways to reduce risk before claims occur. - read more
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| Why first-home buyers are turning to Western Sydney apartments Tue, 21 Jul: New NSW property sales data points to a practical shift in the first-home buyer market: more buyers are choosing apartments in Western Sydney, while overall transaction volumes across the state have lifted. InfoTrack’s latest quarterly figures show NSW sales activity rose between April and June, with first-home buyers increasingly clustering around suburbs that offer a mix of relative affordability, transport, jobs and established services. - read more
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| New Marsh Strata Lead Points to a More Complex Insurance Market Tue, 21 Jul: Marsh Risk has appointed Justin Gillingham as its new head of strata, in a move that reflects how quickly the Australian strata insurance market is becoming more specialised. Announced on 20 July 2026, the appointment brings a senior insurance and risk professional into a role focused on buildings, owners corporations and communities dealing with increasingly complicated cover, compliance and claims issues. - read more
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| Tesla’s Guaranteed Future Value Loan Could Reframe EV Buying Tue, 21 Jul: Tesla Australia has added a new finance pathway for local buyers through a Guaranteed Future Value loan arranged with Driva, giving approved customers a clearer view of what their vehicle may be worth at the end of the loan term. For Australians weighing up an electric vehicle loan, the move is notable because it targets one of the lingering concerns around EV ownership: depreciation. - read more
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| Toyota’s Electrification Fightback Gives EV Buyers More to Consider Tue, 21 Jul: Toyota Australia has signalled a much broader electrification push as competition from BYD and other Chinese brands intensifies. For Australian buyers, the story is not just about brand rivalry. It is about a fast-changing showroom mix that could affect vehicle choice, waiting times, resale expectations and the way households structure finance for their next low-emissions car. - read more
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| Geely EX2 Gives Budget EV Buyers a New Finance Puzzle Tue, 21 Jul: Australia’s affordable electric vehicle segment is getting another serious shake-up, with Geely confirming local pricing for the EX2 electric hatch ahead of showroom arrivals from late July 2026. The entry Complete variant is priced from $26,490 plus on-road costs, while the higher-spec Inspire starts from $30,990 plus on-road costs. That places the EX2 among the cheapest new EVs available locally and gives cost-conscious buyers another alternative to weigh against small electric hatchbacks and compact SUVs already on sale. - read more
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| What Victoria’s Bushfire Loss Estimate Means for Tradies Tue, 21 Jul: A new industry estimate has put the insured cost of Victoria’s January bushfires at $860 million, sharpening the focus on how quickly natural disaster losses can affect businesses that rely on vehicles, tools, workshops, stock and regional worksites. For tradies, the important detail is not just the size of the loss, but where it landed: commercial property reportedly accounted for the largest share, ahead of personal property and motor losses. - read more
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| Advice Reform Push Highlights Australia’s Life Cover Knowledge Gap Tue, 21 Jul: A fresh push from the Council of Australian Life Insurers has put a familiar consumer problem back in the spotlight: many Australians have life insurance in place, but far fewer clearly understand what it does and does not cover. - read more
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| Rushy Lagoon Deal Puts Land-Use Risk in Focus Tue, 21 Jul: The new plans for Rushy Lagoon, Tasmania’s largest farm, are more than a local land-use debate. They are a useful reminder for Australian farm operators that insurance risk can change quickly when a property moves from a traditional production model into a mixed enterprise involving forestry, livestock, cropping and visitor activity. - read more
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| What Allianz’s Farm Pack Refresh Means for Rural Businesses Tue, 21 Jul: Allianz Australia has refreshed its Farm Pack insurance, launching the updated product on 20 July 2026 through its Allianz Alive digital broker platform. For rural businesses, hobby farmers and agricultural operators, the move is a useful reminder that policy wording and definitions can be just as important as headline premium prices. - read more
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| Why Retailers Should Recheck Their Insurance Before the Next Claim Tue, 21 Jul: Fresh reporting on Australian SME insurance trends has put underinsurance back in the spotlight, with recent Vero SME Insurance Index findings indicating that close to one in ten small and medium-sized businesses believe their current cover is inadequate. For retailers, cafés, convenience stores, boutiques and other shopfront operators, that figure should prompt a practical question: would your policy still match the real cost of replacing stock, repairing premises and keeping the business alive after a disruption? - read more
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| Financial Pressure Sharpens the Case for Practical Office Cover Tue, 21 Jul: Fresh small business research has put numbers around what many Australian operators have been feeling for some time: the pressure of keeping a business running is not just commercial, but personal. The latest BizCover small business survey, reported by SmartCompany, found financial stress remains widespread among respondents, alongside long hours, limited breaks and ongoing concerns about whether the business remains sustainable. - read more
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| Why the New Financial Year Is a Smart Time to Review Your Home Loan Tue, 21 Jul: The start of a new financial year is a useful prompt for Australian mortgage holders to look past the set-and-forget approach. With the cash rate sitting at elevated levels and household budgets still under pressure, the question is not simply whether your home loan is expensive. It is whether the structure still suits the way you live, save and repay debt. - read more
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| Why easier access to advice matters when choosing life insurance Tue, 21 Jul: A recent Good Returns TV discussion with Financial Markets Authority Director of Deposit Taking, Insurance and Advice Michael Hewes has renewed attention on a practical issue for New Zealand households: too many people still find financial advice hard to access, hard to understand, or too time-consuming to begin. - read more
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| What NZ’s snow injury surge says about protecting your pay Tue, 21 Jul: New Zealand’s winter injury data is a timely reminder that a day off can become a financial event very quickly. Insurance Business has reported that snow sports injury claims reached a five-year high, with ACC accepting 8,309 skiing claims at a cost of $32 million and 5,425 snowboarding claims at a cost of $14 million for 2025. For households that rely on regular wages, the issue is not only the medical bill. It is the income interruption that can follow. - read more
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| What a Policy Access Dispute Means for Income Protection Customers Tue, 21 Jul: A recent New Zealand life insurance dispute has put a practical but often overlooked issue in the spotlight: having cover is only part of financial protection. Policyholders also need to know who owns the policy, how documents can be accessed, and what happens when urgent health circumstances arise. - read more
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| First Home Buyer Scheme Faces Fresh Risk Scrutiny Sun, 19 Jul: Australia’s expanded first home buyer loan guarantee program is facing renewed scrutiny after the Insurance Council of Australia warned that shifting more low-deposit loans away from lenders mortgage insurance could create wider risks for borrowers, taxpayers and the mortgage market. - read more
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Please Note: If this information affects you or is relevant to your circumstances, seek advice from a licensed professional.
