Finding new insurance quickly

[TomW]

Thanks for your post Son of G.

It sounds like we have the same underwriter (IAG??).

Kiwibank is offering the insurance and its underwritten by IAG I think.

Certainly would want everything in writing in regards to answering 'Do not know" and making sure that the policy is still covered.

[Perry]

Moderator Note

Two similar threads com-
bined into this one.

[Winston001]

Are we expected to ask our tenants these questions and notify the insurance company everytime answers to these questions change?
Its so stupid!!!

Well, YES. Insurance companies cover risk, not certainty. If you select a criminal tenant you are taking on a risk. How could you possibly expect to pass that risk on to someone else?

[kapitibeanman]

There's a lot of people with criminal convictions. There could be a lot of claims potentially not paid as a result i.e. oh, we know your property was destroyed by an earthquake, but you voided your policy because you either knew or should have known your tenant has a criminal record. If we had been told, we would not have issued the policy, so we are not going to pay out for your earthquake damage, so sorry.

A chap I knew owned and ran a back-packers hostel, and when he first applied for Fire & General insurance with NZI, told them he had no criminal convictions in the last 10 years. Unfortunately for him, he did have a conviction about 9 years and 10 months prior, and he miscalculated. When his backpackers had a fire,(not sure, could have been years later) he got zip, despite an appeal, because NZI said they wouldn't have covered him if they had known about his conviction, end of story.

[Perry]

Insurance is an odd commodity, to be sure.
Pay now, buy later, seems a good way to
describe it. And, more-often-than-not, as
Kapiti Beano alludes, any excuse, material
or otherwise, can and will be used to avoid
a claim, if possible. No premium refunds, in
such cases, of course!

[Bob Kane]

How does the 'clean slate' legislation affect insurance?
You ask the tenant "Any convictions?"
Tenant replies "No."
You tell insurance company "Tenant with no convictions"
Turns out tenant had a minor conviction 10 years earlier but is entitled to use the clean slate provision.
Would the insurance company pay out if a claim was made?

[Son of G]

How does the 'clean slate' legislation affect insurance?You ask the tenant "Any convictions?"Tenant replies "No."You tell insurance company "Tenant with no convictions"Turns out tenant had a minor conviction 10 years earlier but is entitled to use the clean slate provision.Would the insurance company pay out if a claim was made?

Tower seamed happy with the answer "to the best of my knowledge". However I think you would want that confirmed with your insurance company.

[Wayne]

Tower is my insurer and I asked the person when I paid last week - she said that I need to tell them what I know (when I find out) but don't have to quiz the tenants on it (privacy etc). If I found they had a criminal conviction or something then I need to inform Tower. Seemed reasonable and practical.

[speights boy]

Insurer pulls plug on New Zealand

An insurance company that covers over 20,000 New Zealand properties has announced it is cancelling policies from the end of this year.

Ansvar Insurance, which announced in September that it was no longer offering earthquake cover in New Zealand, said today it was pulling out completely because of the prohibitive cost of reinsurance following the Canterbury earthquakes.

It has 2800 commercial policies and 17,700 domestic policies in New Zealand.

http://www.stuff.co.nz/business/money/6027493/Insurer-pulls-plug-on-New-Zealand

[Wayne]

As a specialist insurer their risk is probably higher than average and they would now be having trouble quantifying/ pricing that risk. Expect to see a few more small one drop out saying the market is just too hard for them.

[kapitibeanman]

Didn't Ansvar take a disproportionate hit because they insured a lot of vulnerable churches against Acts of God? I guess they will have a lot more churches on their books and want to bail out across the country.

[Wayne]

There is a lot of irony in that!

[kapitibeanman]

Quite so. Last place you want to be in when there's a big one is an old church.

Jesus observed that you don't blame the people that get crushed when a wall accidentally falls on them.

It's all beyond me. I've compromised by avoiding churches for some years now, and I insure, but I still think the big J

was (is?) quite a fellow to say the least.