Recently Extinct Australian Insurers and Financial Corporations

Can't find a company? It may be here. This page lists company names from the insurance and financial sector which are no longer in use, along with a brief description of where the company went.

Aetna Life : Prudential from January 1989
AM Life Ltd : Merged with IOOF. Announced March 2003.
APA Life : Renamed Oceanic Life 1987/88
Armstrong Jones Life Assurance Limited : Business transferred to the Mercantile Mutual Life Insurance Company Limited. (1997? 1998?)
Associated National Life : Tyndall Life since March 1989
Australian Eagle Life Limited was deregistered July 1998, its business having been transferred to MLC Limited and MLC Lifetime Company Limited in April 1998.
Australian Independent Friendly Society Limited : Business transferred to Ancient Order of Foresters in Victoria Friendly Society Limited, (commonly called Foresters Friendly Society), on 30 June 2007.
Australian Mutual Provident Society : Name changed to AMP Life Limited (in 1997?)
Australian Manufacturer's Life : Armstrong Jones since November 1988
Australasian Temperance and General Mutual Life Assurance Society Limited : Name changed to T&G Mutual, 1974
Bankers Trust Life Limited changed its name to BT Life Limited in May 2000.
Business Men's Assurance : sold to FAI, September 1989.
Capita : Merged with MLC, June 1990.
City Mutual Life Assurance Society Limited : Name changed to Capita Financial Group Limited, 1986
Colonial Mutual : Demutualised in December 1996, and dropped the "Mutual" from the name of the holding company, (but not from all subsidiaries.) Merged with the Commonwealth Bank of Australia on 14 June 2000 to form the Commonwealth Bank Group. Several companies within this group retain "Colonial" or "Colonial Mutual" in their names.
Commerical Union Insurance merged with NZI Insurance in 1998 to form CGU Insurance
Deutsche Life Limited changed its name to Challenger Life No. 2 Limited in August 2000.
Eagle Star Insurance Company Limited : Life insurance business transferred to Australian Eagle Insurance Company Limited, 1978.
Equity Life Limited : Name changed to Challenger Life Limited (in 1997?)
FAI business taken over by Allianz
Friends' Provident : Sold to Tower Life, October 1993
Fortis Insurance Limited, (incorporating VACC, AIM and AMEV) acquired by CGU Insurance, July 2001.
Fortis Life Assurance Company Limited (and AMEV Life Assurance Company Limited and Northern Life Assurance Company of Australia Limited) : Now named NULife Insurance Limited. (NULife does not appear in the phone book, but their contact address obtained from APRA matches the address of Norwich Union Life Australia Limited.)
Greater Pacific Life : ANZ Life Assurance Limited since February 1989.
Heritage Life Insurance Limited: Deregistered in January 1998, its business having been transferred to Hallmark Life Insurance Company Limited in December 1997.
Independent Mutual Friendly Society Limited : Business transferred to Ancient Order of Foresters in Victoria Friendly Society Limited, (commonly called Foresters Friendly Society), on 30 June 2003.
Legal & General : Sold to Colonial in October 1998. Its name was changed to Colonial Financial Corporation Limited on 28 May 1999.
Manufacturers Mutual Insurance Ltd (MMI) : Name changed to Allianz Australia Insurance Limited in 2000 after being taken over by the German-based multinational Allianz AG in 1998.
Mercantile Mutual : Renamed ING from 1 March 2001 after having been part of the ING group since that group's formation in 1991.
National Mutual : Holding company renamed AXA Australia in 1999. The life insurance company retained the name "National Mutual Life Association of Australasia Limited".
Norwich Union: Most companies in this group changed their name from Norwich Union to Aviva Australia at 1 October 2003, bringing their names into line with the UK parent. However, the registered life insurance company still appears to be called Norwich Union Life Australia Ltd
NZI Insurance merged with Commerical Union Insurance in 1998 to form CGU Insurance
Oceanic Life Limited : Business transferred to Tyndall Life Insurance Company Limited in December 1997.
Occidental Life : Transferred to Mercantile Mutual April 1993
Scottish Amicable : Renamed Scottish Australia and merged with Colonial.
Promina : The Promina group merged with Suncorp, under the Suncorp name, in March 2007. The Promina name is perhaps not well known amongst policy owners, as it was a holding company owning better known insurance subsidiaries such as AAMI (general insurance) and Asteron (life insurance), which still trade under those names.
Prudential : Sold to Colonial October 1998. Its name was changed to Colonial Portfolio Services Limited on 28 May 1999. Colonial Portfolio Services Limited transferred its business to the Colonial Mutual Life Assurance Society Limited on 31 October 1999.
Regal Life : Transferred to Mercantile Mutual April 1993
Royal and Sun Alliance : Renamed Promina early in 2003. The financial services part of the business renamed Asteron in June 2003.
Royal Life : Renamed Regal Life.
SGIC Life Limited : Deregistered March 1999. Its business had been transferred to Legal and General Life of Australia Limited in December 1998.
The Life Insurance Company of Australia Limited : Business transferred to Tyndall Life Insurance Company Limited in December 1997.
Tyndall Life Insurance Company Limited changed its name to Royal & Sun Alliance Financial Services Limited in July 2000.
T&G Mutual Life Society Limited : Life insurance business transferred to The National Mutual Life Association of Australasia Limited, 1983.

The Investment Savings and Insurance Association (of New Zealand) maintains a similar page of extinct New Zealand insurers.