Suncorp Group Limited has appointed Singapore-based insurance executive Yen Saw as a non-executive director, with her appointment to take effect following completion of regulatory and other required processes, which the group expects by June 30, 2026.
Saw brings more than 30 years of governance and executive experience across insurance, reinsurance, financial services, and consulting, including roles involving technology-led change and regional oversight. Her career has spanned multiple Asian markets and a range of business lines relevant to general insurance and life insurance operations. Based in Singapore, Saw currently serves as a non-executive director of Manulife (Singapore) Pte Ltd. She has also been a non-executive director on the QBE Asia advisory board for more than six years, with that board overseeing QBE’s operations in Malaysia and Hong Kong. She will step down from her QBE positions before taking up the Suncorp board role.
Her executive experience includes serving as chief executive officer of Tokio Marine Insurance (Malaysia) and holding senior leadership positions in Asia with Aviva, Transamerica Life, Swiss Re, and Prudential. These roles have covered areas such as distribution, product, operations, and regional management. Suncorp chairman Duncan West said the appointment forms part of the group’s ongoing board renewal process, which is focused on aligning board skills with the strategy of its Trans-Tasman insurance business. “Yen’s appointment is an important part of our ongoing board renewal at Suncorp, aimed at ensuring we have the appropriate mix of experience, skills, and diversity to achieve our strategy,” West said.
The board change follows Suncorp’s earlier announcement that CEO Steve Johnston is taking a short period of temporary leave while he recuperates from a medical procedure. During this period, chief financial officer Jeremy Robson has been appointed acting CEO. While Robson serves in the acting chief executive role, Neil Wesley, currently executive general manager for strategy, corporate development, and investor relations, will act as CFO. The board said it wished Johnston a speedy recovery. No further updates were provided on guidance or strategic settings in relation to the temporary leadership arrangements.
The governance and leadership developments are set against Suncorp’s first-half 2026 (1H26) results, in which the group reported a decline in profit after a series of severe weather events. For the half year ended Dec. 31, 2025, Suncorp reported profit after tax of $263 million, compared with $1.1 billion in the prior corresponding period. Cash earnings were $270 million, down from $828 million a year earlier. The group said the result reflected elevated natural hazard experience, lower investment returns, and negative mark-to-market movements on investments as yields increased.
Johnston said the external environment weighed on reported earnings but pointed to underlying performance and progress against the group’s strategic plans. “While Suncorp’s 1H26 reported profits and shareholder returns have been challenged by an elevated level of natural hazard costs and lower investment returns over the half, our underlying business remains resilient as we continue to deliver on our strategic imperatives and drive good momentum leading into the second half of the financial year,” he said. Suncorp recorded nine declared natural hazard events over the half, generating more than 71,000 claims at a net cost of about $1.3 billion. The events included thunderstorms and widespread hailstorms, including a giant hailstorm in November, affecting the east coast of Australia, particularly south-east Queensland in October and November.
Suncorp reported an underlying insurance trading ratio of 11.7%, which it said was toward the top half of its 10% to 12% target range. In the consumer portfolio, gross written premium increased 6.3%, with policy units up 2% in motor and 0.4% in home. The group has been adjusting portfolio mix, risk selection, and pricing, including in lower-risk segments. The board declared a fully franked interim dividend of 17 cents per share, equal to 68% of cash earnings. Suncorp has continued its on-market share buy-back, with $168 million of shares repurchased since the program commenced in September and a further $400 million targeted by the end of FY26.
On its operating model, the group is progressing platform and process changes, including broader use of artificial intelligence in parts of the business. Suncorp expects gross written premium growth to be around the lower end of the mid-single-digit range, reflecting commercial market conditions in Australia and New Zealand, and anticipates underlying insurance trading performance to remain in the top half of the 10% to 12% target range.
