Michelle Bowes

Australians are a pretty resilient people, and are no strangers to natural catastrophes, considering we get hailstorms, floods, bushfires and, in northern parts of the country, tropical cyclones. But the news that Victoria was hit by a magnitude 5.9 earthquake causing damage in Melbourne last month may have taken many by surprise.

CommBank, Westpac, NAB, ANZ, BoMD – these are the five biggest mortgage lenders in Australia. It’s a pretty familiar list, but you’d be forgiven for not recognising the final name.

BoMD, or the Bank of Mum and Dad, describes regular Aussie parents who are helping their kids get onto the property ladder.

The sharemarket is so daunting! How do total beginners get started investing? What steps do you take and what decisions are needed? We talk you through step-by-step.

Spring has arrived and summer is on the way. From a risk perspective in Australia that means one thing: bushfire season. With bushfire season starting notably earlier than usual in recent years, leaving preparations until December or even November is too late. Now is the time to make sure your business is bushfire ready.

As a broker that does business with Miramar, you may have been contacted to participate in a survey about your interactions with us.
Miramar southern region manager, James Fitzpatrick, says the surveys are part of a Steadfast Underwriting Agency broker service review process, which began in October 2019.

Will COVID-19 have a lasting impact on the property insurance and liability insurance markets?

Bushfires and grassfires are a fact of life for those in many rural and regional areas of Australia.
Traditionally a summer event, the experience of recent years indicates that the bushfire season is starting earlier, so preparing well ahead of summer is key, says ARGIS farm underwriting manager Peter Morsley.

Despite bushfires in Perth, this summer has paled in comparison to the catastrophic bushfires of the 2019-20 Black Summer.
For Australia’s farmers, that’s a good thing, as underinsurance on farms remains a significant problem in rural Australia, according to ARGIS farm underwriting manager Peter Morsley.

The gender pay gap currently stands at 14.2 per cent. It has a knock-on affect for women across every stage of life.

Everyone seems to be talking about ETFs right now, so here’s the lowdown on why Exchange Traded Funds are so damn interesting.

The average net wealth of Australian women is now 89 per cent of that of men, with the rise of women as an economic force largely due to more women working, along with the booming housing market.

In turn, this has fuelled the growth in female-focused personal finance resources – whatever your interest, there’s a good chance there’s a book, podcast or course that has you covered.

You teen has landed their first job and it’s a fantastic opportunity to further the ‘pocket money’ talks. Finance writer Michelle Bowes talks us through five important money moments when your teen starts their first job.