Australia’s financial regulator is suing A$70 billion ($46 billion)
pension fund Mercer Super, accusing it of failing to report multiple investigations into serious member services issues.
In a Federal Court filing, the Australian Securities and Investments Commission alleged between October 2021 and September 2024, Mercer Super failed to disclo
se seven investigations and reported another more than a year late. Among the matters under review was the inco
rrect refunding of insurance premiums after members had died, ASI
C said, adding the fund also gave false or misleading information in reports to the regulator.
The lawsuit comes after a March ASIC report criticized leadership across the A$4.1 trillion pensions industry f
or fostering a culture of poor customer service, outlining 34 recommendations for reform. The regulator has also taken a
ction against pension funds AustralianSuper and Cbus over alleged mishandlings of death benefits and insurance claims.
Mercer is cooperating with ASIC and reviewing the allegations, it said in a statement. The fund added that A
SIC “has expressly stated” that Mercer didn’t set out to deliberately mislead the regulator about the matters. (Editor’s note:
Marsh McLennan subsidiary, Mercer, manages the Mercer Super pension fund).
See more beautiful photo albums Here >>>
In Australia, financial services license holders are required to promptly report ongoing investigations into significant breaches of their core obli
gations. “We allege a pattern of longstanding and systemic failure by Mercer Super to comply with the law,” ASIC Deputy Chair Sarah Court said in a statement.
In a separate case last year, Mercer Super was fined A$11.3 million for greenwashing, the first court action by ASIC over the issue.
Photograph: An elderly couple in Carlton Gardens in Melbourne, Australia, on Friday, April 5, 2024. Photo credit: James Bugg/Bloomberg
However, the most dramatic results were seen in personal lines, where Travelers reversed a Q2 2024 underwriting loss of $373 million to a gain of $480 million fo
r the same quarter this year. Income for the segment was $534 million compared to a loss of $153 million a year ago, a
nd the combined ratio came in at 88.4 versus 108.5 for Q2 2024. U.S. homeowners insurance NPW increased 7% to about $2.5 billion.
NPW in the business segment increased 5% to $5.8 billion as renewal premiums were up 8.6% for middle-market business and 10.7% for small commercial. The Q2 combined ratio in the business segment was 88.3 compared to 89.2 last year during the same time.
The second quarter turned around results from the first three months of 2025. Looking at year-to-date results, net income is up 15% to about $1.9 billion. The company recorded net income of $395 million for Q1, down 65%, with an underwriting loss of $305 million. Travelers paid out about $2.3 billion in Q1 catastrophe losses, mostly on the California wildfires.