QBE insurer jobs go overseas

Source: Herald Sun

INJURED workers will have their compensation claims processed overseas after a major insurance company slashed 700 jobs, unions say.

The Finance Sector Union (FSU) said QBE is sending 700 jobs from NSW to the Philippines, including 46 workers compensation claims officers.

As a licensed insurer, QBE is contracted by the State Government to process WorkCover claims.

The FSU has urged NSW Premier Barry O'Farrell to intervene and pressure QBE to keep the jobs in Parramatta.

"We are now in the ludicrous situation where clerks in Manila will be leafing through medical records to determine if an Australian worker is sick," national assistant secretary of the FSU, Geoff Derrick, said.

Unions NSW secretary Mark Lennon also said the premier needed to pressure QBE immediately because sending jobs offshore "is simply not on".

"The insurance industry has already had a huge free kick through the cuts to workers compensation entitlements and it's time the government pressured them to promote Australian jobs," he said.

QBE is being sought for comment.

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Insurer Aviva posts huge 2012 loss

BRITISH insurer Aviva says it tumbled into a net loss of STG3.0 billion ($A4.4 billion) last year and slashed its shareholder dividend, sparking a slump in the group's share price.

The loss after tax, owing mainly to a massive writedown following the sale of its US business, contrasted with a net profit of STG60 million in 2011, Aviva said in a results statement on Thursday.

The company meanwhile reported underlying operating profit - an indicator of its day-to-day business - of STG1.78 billion.

However, shares plunged in value after Aviva cut its full-year shareholder dividend by 27 per cent to 19 pence a share, as it sought to cut debt and improve performance.

Chief executive Mark Wilson insisted in the earnings release that the group had achieved major progress in its turnaround program.

"2012 was a year of transition at Aviva. There has been solid progress against the turnaround plan set out last year. Our capital strength has improved materially and we have completed the vast proportion of the disposal program. We have made progress reducing costs and we also have a strong new management team in place," he said.

Wilson added: "The STG3 billion loss after tax is driven principally by writedowns we have previously announced due to the agreed sale of our US business.

"Operating profit levels were healthy across our major businesses, especially in the UK, France and Canada."

Aviva - Britain's second-biggest insurer after Prudential - said last July it would withdraw from 16 non-core business areas following a major strategic review of the group.

The review was launched after the shock resignation of chief executive Andrew Moss in May 2012 amid shareholder revolts over pay for top managers viewed as underperforming.

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