HISTORY
IAG's heritage dates back to 1925 when the National Roads and Motorists' Association (NRMA) started providing insurance to its members in New South Wales (NSW) and the Australian Capital Territory (ACT).
NRMA Insurance grew strongly over the following years, adding home and contents insurance to its car insurance products, becoming the largest non government homes and contents insurer in NSW and the ACT by 1981. By 1994 NRMA had expanded interstate with eight offices in Victoria, and it moved into Queensland as NRMA Insurance in 1995.
In 1998, the NRMA Group acquired SGIO, a previously government owned insurer in Western Australia, and SGIC, the South Australian insurer which, at that time, was owned by SGIO. It also entered the Asian market for the first time, acquiring an interest in Thailand's Safety Insurance.
The following year, a joint venture was formed between the insurance businesses of NRMA and Royal Automobile Club of Victoria (RACV). And the Group purchased an interest in the China Automobile Association (CAA).
In July 2000, the NRMA Group demutualised, separating the road services and insurance arms of the organisation. NRMA Insurance Group Limited was listed on the Australian Stock Exchange (ASX) in August 2000.
The Group expanded across the Tasman Sea in 2001 through its acquisition of State Insurance, New Zealand's largest general insurance company. It also acquired the policies and renewal rights to HIH's Australian workers' compensation business.
In January 2002, NRMA Insurance Group Limited changed its name to Insurance Australia Group Limited, to better reflect its size, diversity and geographical distribution.
In January 2003, IAG acquired Aviva's general insurance businesses—CGU in Australia (which also owned Swann Insurance) and NZI in New Zealand. IAG also acquired Zurich Insurance's New South Wales workers' compensation business.
Since 2005, IAG has expanded its portfolio of Asian assets, by adding another Thai insurer, NZI Thailand (formerly owned by Royal & SunAlliance), and an interest in Malaysian general insurer, AmAssurance. More recently, IAG has also increased its stake in Safety Insurance to 98.5% of voting rights and signed a joint venture agreement with the State Bank of India to establish a general insurance company in India.
In 2006, IAG acquired Hastings Insurance Services Limited and Advantage Insurance Company Limited. The following year, IAG acquired another UK insurer, Equity Insurance Group, trading as Equity Red Star and Equity Insurance Brokers.
In 2008, Michael Wilkins was appointed Chief Executive Officer of IAG, and the Group refined its strategy to concentrate on its home markets of Australia and New Zealand, pursue select growth opportunities and drive operational performance and execution. In line with this strategy, IAG scaled back its operations in the UK to become a specialist motor underwriter through Equity Red Star.
In May 2009, in IAG’s quest to continue to offer customers choice and flexibility in its chosen markets, it launched an internet business to serve people who want to buy and manage their car insurance online. Called The Buzz, the business interacts with customers via the internet through the entire lifecycle of their insurance policy—from buying their policy, right through to making a claim.
IAG continues to focus on its strategic intent of creating a portfolio of high performing, customer-focused, diverse operations providing general insurance in a manner that delivers superior experiences for our stakeholders and creates shareholder value.
