The Victorian Government has lowered the insurance requirements for building professionals operating in this State. In effect, it means that the requirement on Building Practitioner’s to have NO exclusion in respect of non-conforming building materials has been done away with. What disappoints me is that some insurers were taking, what to me was, a very fair approach and only excluding known non-conforming building materials. With […]
I support the increased fines for texting while driving.
I saw with interest that the penalties for using a mobile phone in Queensland were being increased and that loss of licence would follow a second offence. Clearly this issue is one of the biggest causes of injury, death and property damage on our roads and many drivers are just not getting the message. My own wife was hit by a driver plowing through a […]
Increases in NSW ESL leads to expected drop in insurance protection
It has already started to happen. Over the past week I have been contacted by both insureds and brokers advising that they/their clients have elected to drop business interruption or elect not to fully insure due to the increased financial burden created by the massive increase in Emergency Services Levy. I try and explain the risk that the business is taking on by not insuring […]
MFB also charging for fire extinguishment
In January 2019, a fire occurred at a premises in Cambellfield that recycled a number of items and among this lithium batteries. In this case, the Melbourne Fire Brigade rang the landlord seeking a guarantee that they would meet the cost of excavators needed to assist in the extinguishing of the fire. As I understand it, the tenant also received a call, as did the […]
Have we learned anything in claims from the Royal Commission?
The Royal Commission really brought out a few reoccurring themes. One was all about culture, a second about failure to act in good faith and third considering the customer experience. Linked to this are two issues that keeps popping up, and I have written on both before. The first is certainty of contract and the second is treating the insured fairly. Earlier this week I […]
More on the composite cladding issue
One of the biggest issues facing the construction and insurance industries of late has been the use of composite paneling. Of course linked to this is the number of fires involving extruded polystyrene “XPS” in cool rooms. I am anxious to learn as much as I can about the issues as is Steve Manning and we acknowledge those that are assisting us including AXA UK […]
1 Post – 7 Issues
My son read on one of my posts that his car, an Audi, had a recall. It was the second recall on this particular vehicle while his wife’s car, another Audi has had one. Doing the right thing he rang up and sort to have the matter addressed. The car was booked in this morning. Issue 1: motor vehicles are often the subject to recall […]
Methylamphetamine use drives more illegal Meth labs
Earlier this week, the Australian Criminal Intelligence Commission released the sixth report of the National Wastewater Drug Monitoring Program providing longer-term insights into drug consumption as the program concludes its second year. Using wastewater data between August 2017 to August 2018, it is estimated that more than 9.6 tonnes of methylamphetamine is consumed in Australia each year, as well as more than 4 tonnes of […]
Why should NSW Insureds foot the majority of the bill for improvements in emergency services?
It is disappointing to me that at a time when insurance premiums are rising, and will no doubt rise further with the various natural catastrophes occurring around Australia, that the NSW government are seeking to increase the Emergency Services Levy on those that are prudent enough to Insure. The whole collection method is already a nightmare. Let me explain why. The NSW Government (Treasury) sets […]
The risk that irresponsible drone users pose on the rest of us
Over the busy holiday period we saw that tens of thousands of people were inconvenienced and no doubt airlines and the airport lost significant sums of money (the cynic in me suggests that big business losing money is more important to government than an inconvenienced public) all due to some yet to be identified individuals flying a drone over or near the airport. It is […]