Insurer caps off bad year

chairman/insurance/annual-general-meeting/chief-executive/chief-executive-officer/director/

12 November 2008
| By Jayson Forest |

Insurance Australia Group (IAG) capped off an acrimonious year yesterday with the announcement that its chairman of seven years, James Strong, would most likely step down from the board during the next three years.

The announcement followed a drop in earnings for the insurer for the third successive year, the resignation of its chief executive, Michael Hawker, in May, the retirement in August of two board members, staff redundancies, an exit from its venture into the UK market, and a failed bid by rival insurer QBE.

Speaking at the company’s annual general meeting yesterday, IAG managing director and chief executive officer Michael Wilkins reported that the company registered a net loss after tax for the 2008 financial year of $261 million.

As a result, the board declared a final dividend of 9 cents per ordinary share, taking the full year dividend to 22.5 cents per share fully franked. This represents a reduction of 7 cents per share from the previous year.

Wilkins said with the implementation of some key initiatives, such as cost savings measures including staff redundancies, a new management structure, and the sale of some parts of the business, such as the mass market distribution businesses in the UK, the company would be in a better position to deliver an improved insurance profit margin of over 10 per cent in 2009.

Strong confirmed his re-election to the board would be his last as a director, with the board already addressing the need for an “orderly succession” for a new chairman.

Read more about:

AUTHOR

Recommended for you

sub-bgsidebar subscription

Never miss the latest news and developments in wealth management industry

MARKET INSIGHTS

So we are now underwriting criminal scams?...

2 months ago

Glad to see the back of you Steve. You made financial more expensive, not more affordable as you claim, and presided ...

2 months ago

Completely agree Peter. The definition of 'significant change is circumstances relevant to the scope of the advice' is s...

4 months ago

Entireti has unveiled the new name for the AMP financial advice businesses that it acquired last year....

4 weeks ago

A Sydney financial adviser has been permanently banned from providing any financial services, with the regulator deriding his “lack of integrity, trustworthiness and prof...

2 weeks 6 days ago

Minister for Financial Services, Stephen Jones, has provided further information about the second tranche of the Delivering Better Financial Outcomes (DBFO) reforms....

1 week 5 days ago

TOP PERFORMING FUNDS