Japanese insurer Tokio Marine has identified Australian insurer Suncorp as a preferred takeover target after reviewing several potential options, the Financial Times reported on Tuesday, citing people familiar with the matter.
Tokio Marine reviewed several takeover targets over the past months, including Insurance Australia Group (IAG) and Suncorp, as well as Canada’s Intact Financial Corp., the report said.
Two people with direct knowledge of the matter told the FT that Suncorp had emerged as the preferred target for the Berkshire Hathaway-backed Japanese insurer, with the Canadian general insurer deemed too large.
The sources warned that discussions were ongoing and there was no certainty a deal would result, the report said.
Suncorp and IAG declined to comment on the report, while Tokio Marine did not immediately respond to a Reuters request for comment. Reuters could not immediately confirm the report.
Shares of both Australian insurers jumped after the report, rising between 5% and 6% to lead gains on the benchmark ASX 200 index .AXJO and the financials sub-index .AXFJ, which were up 0.6% and 0.9%, respectively.
($1 = 1.3980 Australian dollars)
Insurance claims tied to subsidence — a phenomenon associated with bouts of hot, dry weather that shrink the soil and destabilize the foundations on which buildings stand — hit a record last quarter, according to data provided by the Association of British Insurers. On average, households claimed £20,000 ($27,200) for the risk, more than in any previous quarter and a 15% jump from the same period in 2025, the ABI said.
Laura Hughes, head of general insurance at the ABI, says the upward trend is likely to continue. “We expect to see more subsidence cases because of the hot weather,” she said in an interview.
Londoners have taken to social media to express their dismay. On Reddit, people offered personal accounts telling of “horrendous cracking” in their homes, and “doors sticking” due to subsidence. One said it was “genuinely scary” to discover that their kitchen had moved as the foundations of the home shifted.
Another Reddit user described the response of a structural engineer they contacted for help. “Before I could finish explaining he laughed and said, ‘You and 20,000 other people in southeast London’,” the person wrote.