Thu, 12th Feb 2026

This week's Insurance News Wrap includes the impact of Healthscope terminating agreements with Bupa and the Australian Health Services Alliance, potentially affecting 6.6 million Australians with higher out of pocket healthcare expenses. The Australian government instructed health insurers to increase funding to private hospitals following a 3.73% average hike in premiums. The Australian Medical Association's latest report shows increasing premiums and exclusion of certain treatments in 70% of policies, leading to a decrease in comprehensive gold-tier policies uptake. They are calling for urgent reforms and the creation of an independent authority to govern private health insurance. Travel insurance giant Allianz Australia, and subsidiary AWP Australia, faced substantial fines for misleading statements about their products underlining the significance of transparency in the insurance industry.n