| Type | Subsidiary of Suncorp-Metway |
|---|---|
| Industry | General Insurance |
| Founded | 1927 |
| Headquarters | Brisbane, Australia |
| Area served | Australia |
| Website | www.gio.com.au |
GIO is an Australian general insurance company founded by the New South Wales State Government in 1927 as the Government Insurance Office of NSW. It is now fully owned by Suncorp-Metway.
Contents |
GIO offers the following types of insurance:
and through relationships with other parts of the Suncorp group of companies:
The Government Insurance Office (GIO) was formed in 1927 to take over the Workers Compensation responsibilities of the New South Wales State Government. GIO expanded its offerings to cover Home, Motor, Travel, Business and Life Insurance. In 1989 GIO was renamed GIO Australia. In 1992 GIO formed the GIO Building Society.[1] The NSW State Government floated GIO on the Australian Stock Exchange in August 1992.
AMP made a hostile takeover bid for GIO Australia in August 1998, with the GIO board recommending that shareholders reject AMP's offer. From this, AMP acquired 57 per cent of GIO's shares. AMP successfully acquired the remaining shares after GIO Australia announced a $743m loss in 1999 due to the GIO Reinsurance division. AMP merged its own General Insurance division AMP General Insurance into the GIO Australia operations.
Suncorp-Metway Limited acquired GIO's Insurance division (including AMP General Insurance) in July 2001. As part of the agreement, GIO underwrites insurance products on behalf of AMP.