Vero Insurance
 | |
| Industry | General insurance |
|---|---|
| Founded | 2003 |
| Headquarters | Sydney, Australia |
Area served | Australia and New Zealand |
Key people |
Anthony Day (CEO) Andrew Mair Darren O'Connell Matt Pearson (Executive General Managers) |
| Parent | Promina Group, Suncorp Group |
| Website | http://www.vero.com.au/ |
Vero Insurance is an Australian insurance company. They are the co-major sponsors of the Brisbane Lions and one of the biggest insurance companies in Australia.
History
In 1833, Alliance Insurance, a UK-based company, established an office in Australia, and wrote one of Australia's first life insurance policies. In 1848, Royal Insurance opened an office in Adelaide. In 1849, they opened one in Sydney, and in 1850, Melbourne. In 1865, the Sun Insurance Office began functioning as an agency for the first time. Also in 1865, London Insurance began functioning simultaneously in the cities of Sydney, Melbourne, Adelaide, Hobart and Launceston. In 1959, Alliance Insurance and Sun Insurance merged to form Sun Alliance. In 1961, Royal Insurance acquired the London & Lancashire and Derwent & Tamar group. Derwent & Tamar was Australia's first insurance company. In 1965, Sun Alliance merged with London Insurance, and changed its name slightly to SunAlliance. In 1985, SunAlliance acquired the Phoenix group of Century, Prudential and Cornhill. In 1986, Australian Alliance Insurance was established as a separate company to SunAlliance, to cater to the needs of the elderly. They did this through their brand, Australian Pensioners Insurance Agency. In 1992, Royal Insurance and SunAlliance merged to become Royal & SunAlliance. In 1994. SunAlliance purchased New Zealand's general insurance group Royal Insurance. In 1997, SunAlliance purchased Connelly Temple. In 2003, Royal & SunAlliance announced a change in organisational structure in Australia and New Zealand and changed its name to Promina. The name of the general insurance company was changed to Vero Insurance. In 2007, Promina and Suncorp merged. In 2012, Vero Insurance became the co-major sponsor, with National Storage, for the Brisbane Lions.[1]
Notable claims
Vero made what they considered an "historic" claim on the New Zealand 2011 earthquakes in December 2014. They made the biggest claim for the 2011 earthquakes, with $550 million.[2]
Controversy
Vero sparked a controversy in May 2014 when they refused to refund 87-year-old pensioner Alex Fraser for a cruise he had been forced to cancel when his sister became ill. She died three days later. He had paid $2900 for the cruise, and paid an extra $200 on his insurance policy to cover in case a relative became sick or died. Despite this, he was refused a refund, as a clause in the policy defines a 'relative' as an immediate family member under the age of 75. His sister, Jean Docherty, was 81 at the time.[3]
References
- ↑ "Lions sign Vero as new co-major sponsor". SportsPro. 2013-11-02. Retrieved 2014-12-18.
- ↑ "NZ's largest earthquake claim settlement led by Vero". Scoop. 2014-12-16. Retrieved 2014-12-18.
- ↑ "Cold-hearted insurance company refused to refund a pensioner who cancelled his cruise because of his sister's death - as she wasn't an 'immediate' relative and she was over 75". MailOnline (Daily Mail). 2014-05-15. Retrieved 2014-12-18.
