ARAG SE, the big German insurer, is withdrawing from the Australian market. A media release from the company headquarters in Düsseldorf said existing policies will continue to be serviced but the firm will not renew policies or take on new business.

“Unfortunately, business expectations in Australia have not materialised,” said Renko Dirksen (main picture), CEO of ARAG SE. “After almost six years, the market has not shown the response we expected. Therefore, it’s time for us to leave.”

Largest privately owned insurer in Germany

ARAG regards itself as “the leading legal insurer worldwide” and is the largest privately owned insurance firm in Germany.

ARAG Australia operates from Sydney as an underwriting agency. The business is underwritten by HDI Global Specialty SE.

Aus challenge: embedding legal expense insurance

The release said ARAG’s local team has played a key role in introducing and embedding legal expense insurance into the Australian market.

“We extend our sincere thanks to our Australian colleagues for their efforts, and to our distribution partners, brokers, and legal networks for their ongoing support,” said Dirksen