Vero Insurance is an Australian insurance company. Founded in 2003, it is one of the largest insurance companies in Australia.
History
In 1833, Alliance Insurance, a UK-based company, established an office in Australia, and wrote one of Australia's first life insurance policies. In 1848, Royal Insurance opened an office in Adelaide. In 1849, it opened one in Sydney, and in 1850, Melbourne. In 1865, the Sun Insurance Office began functioning as an agency for the first time. Also in 1865, London Insurance began functioning simultaneously in the cities of Sydney, Melbourne, Adelaide, Hobart and Launceston. In 1959, Alliance Insurance and Sun Insurance merged to form Sun Alliance. In 1961, Royal Insurance acquired the London & Lancashire and Derwent & Tamar group. Derwent & Tamar was Australia's first insurance company. In 1965, Sun Alliance merged with London Insurance, and changed its name slightly to SunAlliance. In 1985, SunAlliance acquired the Phoenix group of Century, Prudential and Cornhill. In 1986, Australian Alliance Insurance was established as a separate company to SunAlliance, to cater to the needs of the elderly. It did this through its brand, Australian Pensioners Insurance Agency. In 1992, Royal Insurance and SunAlliance merged to become Royal & SunAlliance. In 1994. SunAlliance purchased New Zealand's general insurance group Royal Insurance. In 1997, SunAlliance purchased Connelly Temple. In 2003, Royal & SunAlliance announced a change in organisational structure in Australia and New Zealand and changed its name to Promina. The name of the general insurance company was changed to Vero Insurance. In 2007, Promina and Suncorp merged. In 2012, Vero Insurance became the co-major sponsor, with National Storage, for the Brisbane Lions, from the 2013 season onwards. Its sponsorship of the Lions ended at the conclusion of the 2018 season.
Vero sparked a controversy in May 2014 when it refused to refund 87-year-old pensioner Alex Fraser for a cruise he had been forced to cancel when his sister became ill. She died three days later. He had paid $2900 for the cruise, and paid an extra $200 on his insurance policy to cover in case a relative became sick or died. Despite this, he was refused a refund, as a clause in the policy defines a 'relative' as an immediate family member under the age of 75. His sister, Jean Docherty, was 81 at the time.
