SGIC is an insurance brand of

Insurance Australia Group Insurance Australia Group Limited (IAG) is a multinational insurance company. It is the largest general insurance company in Australia, and also the largest in New Zealand through its subsidiary IAG New Zealand. IAG had its origins in the Nati ...

trading in

South Australia South Australia (commonly abbreviated as SA) is a state in the southern central part of Australia. It covers some of the most arid parts of the country. With a total land area of , it is the fourth-largest of Australia's states and territories ...

. It was formerly the State Government Insurance Commission which was operated by the

Government of South Australia The Government of South Australia, also referred to as the South Australian Government, SA Government or more formally, His Majesty’s Government, is the Australian state democratic administrative authority of South Australia. It is modelled o ...

, providing compulsory

third party Third party may refer to: Business * Third-party source, a supplier company not owned by the buyer or seller * Third-party beneficiary, a person who could sue on a contract, despite not being an active party * Third-party insurance, such as a Veh ...

motor vehicle insurance Vehicle insurance (also known as car insurance, motor insurance, or auto insurance) is insurance for cars, trucks, motorcycles, and other road vehicles. Its primary use is to provide financial protection against physical damage or bodily injury r ...

. SGIC first opened its doors for business on 4 January 1972 with a staff of 24 housed in the third level of Adelaide House at 55

Waymouth Street Waymouth Street, often spelt as Weymouth Street in the early days, is an east–west street running between King William Street and West Terrace in the Adelaide city centre in South Australia. The street is named after Henry Waymouth, a foundi ...

Adelaide Adelaide ( ) is the capital city of South Australia, the state's largest city and the fifth-most populous city in Australia. "Adelaide" may refer to either Greater Adelaide (including the Adelaide Hills) or the Adelaide city centre. The dem ...

. When the Bill to establish SGIC was introduced into the

South Australian Parliament The Parliament of South Australia is the bicameral legislature of the Australian state of South Australia. It consists of the 47-seat House of Assembly (lower house) and the 22-seat Legislative Council (upper house). General elections are held ...

Premier Premier is a title for the head of government in central governments, state governments and local governments of some countries. A second in command to a premier is designated as a deputy premier. A premier will normally be a head of governm ...

Don Dunstan Donald Allan Dunstan (21 September 1926 – 6 February 1999) was an Australian politician who served as the 35th premier of South Australia from 1967 to 1968, and again from 1970 to 1979. He was a member of the House of Assembly (MHA) for th ...

declared that SGIC's role was to help keep premiums at reasonable levels, ensure by competition that adequate service was given and make funds available for investment in semi governmental loans important to the development of the State. The first premium income for SGIC came from insuring the motor vehicle fleet of the South Australian Government $155,026. SGIC moved to new premises on 24 April 1981 at 211

Victoria Square, Adelaide Victoria Square, also known as Tarntanyangga (formerly Tarndanyangga) (), is the central square of five public squares in the Adelaide city centre, South Australia. It is one of six squares designed by the founder of Adelaide, Colonel William L ...

. SGIC grew from a concept in 1971 to become the largest general insurer in South Australia by 1992 selling motor,

home A home, or domicile, is a space used as a permanent or semi-permanent residence for one or many humans, and sometimes various companion animals. It is a fully or semi sheltered space and can have both interior and exterior aspects to it. H ...

life Life is a quality that distinguishes matter that has biological processes, such as signaling and self-sustaining processes, from that which does not, and is defined by the capacity for growth, reaction to stimuli, metabolism, energ ...

, commercial and

health insurance Health insurance or medical insurance (also known as medical aid in South Africa) is a type of insurance that covers the whole or a part of the risk of a person incurring medical expenses. As with other types of insurance, risk is shared among ma ...

throughout the state via 19 branches. By 1992 one in four South Australians was a client of SGIC and it employed close to 1,000. In the latter half of the 1998, the SGIC was acquired by SGIO of

Western Australia Western Australia (commonly abbreviated as WA) is a state of Australia occupying the western percent of the land area of Australia excluding external territories. It is bounded by the Indian Ocean to the north and west, the Southern Ocean to th ...

. In 2000 SGIO was acquired by the

NRMA NRMA (formerly National Roads and Motorists' Association) is an Australian organisation offering roadside assistance, advocacy for motorists and road-users, motoring advice, car servicing, International Driving Permits, travel and other services ...

who in turn acquired CGU. SGIC and CGU moved to new building at 80 Flinders Street in 2005. In moving from a totally state based insurer to being under the umbrella of the NRMA who then changed to the '

meant the assessing resources from South Australia were sent interstate on many occasions to assist when natural disasters hit. Sydney Hailstorm,

Cyclone Larry Severe Tropical Cyclone Larry was a tropical cyclone that made landfall in Australia during the 2005–06 Southern Hemisphere tropical cyclone season. Larry originated as a low pressure system over the eastern Coral Sea on 16 March 2006, and wa ...

, Newcastle Floods, Victorian Bushfires 2009, Melbourne and Perth Storm 2010 were all events to which assessing assistance was sent from South Australia.

External links

Official SGIC Website
Financial services companies established in 1972 Insurance companies of Australia 1972 establishments in Australia {{Australia-company-stub