A few weeks back I posted an article on fire safety in high rise accommodation http://www.allanmanning.com/?p=2388 I received quite a number of emails on this subject and one I thought I would share with you. It is from Matthew Pelletier, Director of Public Relations at Compliance and Safety. Matthew kindly provided a link to a free resource titled: ‘The Comprehensive Resource of fire Safety Tips’. The […]
How water tight is your home?
I was asked to assist a home owner who had had his house trashed by a spectular burst water main by the owners work mate. The work mate was an ex-insurance investigator that I have a lot of respect for and so was only too willing to assist. I was inter-state when the incident occurred but did hear about it on the news. When the homeowner showed me the photos I […]
The first of the NZ court decisions arising from the Canterbury/Christchurch earthquakes handed down.
Many of us have been waiting with interest to see how the New Zealand courts deal with a number of issues that have arisen out of claims following the New Zealand earthquakes. The first decision centres on a material damage issue. The case is Ridgecrest NZ Ltd v IAG NZ Ltd [2012] NZHC 2954. The question that was being determined was whether an Insured was […]
Guest Post – Broker failed to place house insurance
LMI’s New Zealand Manager, Tony Howie was asked to act as an expert witness in a High Court hearing of a broker who failed to place house insurance for a couple despite assuring them on a number of occasions that he had done so. Unfortunately, the house suffered significant damage in the September 2010 Canterbury earthquake. Tony provides the following synopsis of the matter: The clients, […]
Protecting unoccupied premises from theft and fire.
I have posted articles on the risk of theft of metals from premises in the past. (http://www.allanmanning.com/?p=484 and http://www.allanmanning.com/?p=598) One of the challenges of protecting an unoccupied building is how to protect the building with alarms, particularly when there is no existing fire or burglar alarm system and the cost to install traditional systems are expensive due to the cost of the hard wiring at […]
Just how big is the insurance industry
In the latest edition of “Insurance Industry, A Global Outlook” the estimate is that by 2015, premiums world-wide will top $6.3 trillion which to put it into perspective will be around 3 times the GDP of Australia. The premium figure includes both life and general insurance with the United States, Japan, the United Kingdom, Germany, and France representing the leading markets world-wide. Not surprising, China […]
Victorian Government introduces Fire Services Levy Monitor Bill 2012
Victorians have been paying fire service levies for well over 50 years with their insurance. The various governments of the day have not seen any need to introduce special legislation to monitor the collection of billions of dollars through all that period. Now with just over 8 months to go the government has introduced a bill titled the Fire Services Levy Monitor Bill 2012. The question […]
QBE again first to reduce FSL rates in Victoria from 5 January 2013
As predicted fire service levies are set to fall again in Victoria from 5th January 2013 following an announcement yesterday by QBE. There is no set system to follow due to the way the Victorian Government handled or mishandled the transition period rather than follow the example of Queensland, South Australia and Western Australia when they removed their fire service taxes on those that insure. […]
Blog Question:- Subrogation Rights in a Commercial Motor Vehicle Claim
I received this question on an issue that fortunately does not arise very often. “Hoping you can assist on a generic basis. We act as insurance brokers appointed by Liquidators who were appointed over a business which has now ceased to trade. Under the pre-liquidation insurance program the Insured held a Motor Fleet policy which included an Aggregate Deductible structure. An employee of the business driving […]
Blog Question – Run off cover for an air conditioning contractor
I received the following question during the week: Hi Allan, I hope you’ve been well. We’ve got a small Air-conditioning sole trader who has ceased trading recently and wishes to lapse their renewal terms (premium $630.81). We’ve recommended that they consider maintaining their General Liability cover in run-off in order to cover their on-going products liability risk. I just wanted to confirm that given the […]