Sydney, Feb 27, 2026, 18:24 AEDT — Market closed.
- IAG closed at A$6.61, down 0.2% on Friday and about 6.6% lower over the past week
- PERILS put a first industry loss estimate on January Victoria bushfires at A$786 million
- Next focus is claims and capital signals, with IAG’s interim dividend due to be paid on March 13
Insurance Australia Group Ltd shares ended Friday at A$6.61, down 0.23% on the day, trimming the week’s slide but not reversing it. The stock is down about 6.6% since last Friday’s close, after a run of heavy sessions earlier in the week. 1
With the Australian market shut until Monday, investors are watching catastrophe-loss headlines for what they may imply about claims and reinsurance costs across the sector. PERILS, a catastrophe-loss data provider, on Thursday put its first insurance market loss estimate for the Victoria bushfires (Jan. 7–13) at A$786 million and said an updated estimate is due on April 13. 2
IAG has been sensitive to anything that touches claims after it flagged higher weather-related costs and softer investment income at its half-year result earlier this month. “Various major hailstorms and severe weather events … resulted in significant claims for insurers,” CEO Nick Hawkins said then, as the company stuck to its full-year insurance profit outlook and flagged a A$200 million buyback. (Natural peril costs are claims tied to disasters such as storms, floods and bushfires.) 3
The broader market offered little direction into the close. The S&P/ASX 200 ended up 0.03% on Friday. 4
Income investors also have a date on the calendar: IAG’s interim dividend of 12 Australian cents went ex-dividend on Feb. 17 and is due to be paid on March 13, according to market data. 5
That dividend and the buyback plan can help sentiment at the margin, but they do not erase the main driver for general insurers right now: the size and timing of catastrophe costs, and what portion sits with reinsurers rather than on insurers’ own books.
The risk for bulls is straightforward. A worse-than-expected claims run from late-summer weather, or a higher loss tally as bushfire and storm data firm up, can pressure earnings expectations and keep the stock pinned near recent lows.
IAG’s local peers, including QBE and Suncorp, tend to move on the same peril-cost swings, so traders will likely be watching sector tape as much as company-specific headlines when the market reopens.
Next up: Monday’s open, any company or industry updates on catastrophe claims, and the two fixed checkpoints investors can’t ignore — IAG’s March 13 dividend payment and PERILS’ April 13 loss-update timetable.
