Welcome to our November newsletter,
We hope this month has been a successful month for you all although we wish to spare a thought for those affected by the recent 7.8 magnitude earthquake in central New Zealand. We are yet to see a quake with such widespread damage to so many areas of the country. While we can see the significant damage to buildings, roading and our coastline we cannot as easily see the underlying financial and legal issues that come with such a large and widespread natural disaster.
One of the main difficulties people are faced with when recovering from a large natural disaster is the matter of making insurance claims and receiving a pay-out within a reasonable time. Insurance for natural disasters is shared between private insurers and the Earthquake Commission (EQC). EQC is a government owned and ran entity which provides natural disaster insurance to the owners of residential properties in New Zealand. The funds are received through premiums charged by commercial insurers which are then placed into the Natural Disaster Fund. EQCover allows policy holders to receive the first $100,000 of the pay-out from EQC with the private insurer making up the balance of the claim.
As many of you will know EQC has received harsh criticism in the wake of the Canterbury Earthquakes and will again be under pressure significant pressure with this most recent large quake. In response to the criticism following the Christchurch quakes a review was launched in September 2012 to look at the future of the disaster contingency fund after funds were exhausted by the Canterbury quakes. It was intended for this review to be completed half way through 2013 although it now seems completion will be sometime in 2017. EQC have stated that the major aim for the review is to identify areas of the legislation where they can increase clarity whilst also reducing the complexity of the act. This will hopefully improve EQC’s ability to work with the victims of natural disasters more effectively in the future.
Whilst we understand that most of you have not been affected directly by the most recent quakes (other than feeling mild earth tremors in Auckland) it does focus the mind on just how good one’s insurance is and what happens in the event of fire, landslip, earthquake, theft or other eventualities. If you have any queries regarding insurance matters please be in touch; we can answer your query or direct you to specialist in the area.
We look forward to hearing from you.
In this Issue:
- Confidence in Your Business
- Income protection insurance – an essential element
- 5 essential traits every entrepreneur should have
- Construction contractors: has your company got environmental insurance?
The Directors
DAVENPORTS WEST LAWYERS LIMITED
Confidence in Your Business
The urgent desire for a successful business, and the fear of losing business, drives many a good person to do sleazy things. I’m not talking about casino owners or pimps or politicians or corporations. I’m talking about good small business owners who…
Income protection insurance – an essential element
When it comes to insurance most of us make sure we have life insurance, homeowners insurance and car insurance. But an often overlooked component is income protection insurance. What would happen though if you were unable to work because of an injury…
5 essential traits every entrepreneur should have
Small business owners are required to know something about everything. From marketing and sales through to finance, human resources and project management, a business owner’s knowledge base is broad and wide. But what about the personal traits…
Construction contractors: has your company got environmental insurance?
The majority of construction companies are well aware of the need for general liability insurance as well as policies that protect against risk and loss. But have you considered environmental insurance? Lots of construction companies are waking up…