Shaky Foundations

With claims the Christchurch insurance industry is ‘underperforming’, IAG’s Executive General Manager sticks by her company’s performance

Words by: Mary-Jane Daly

The ground shook, fiercely, many times. Buildings fell, homes cracked, lives were lost and precious possessions were damaged or destroyed. That’s what went wrong in Christchurch!
In the face of all the heartache and the heartbreak, and in spite of negative headlines and understandable frustrations, I firmly believe that insurance actually ‘went right’ more than it ‘went wrong’. Maybe not for every individual in every situation, but the sector has proved its worth in this time of need.
With claims still in limbo, business interruption payments nearly due to finish and uncertainty around the future of business in Christchurch the question to ask is, ‘How would Canterbury have coped without insurance?’
Already IAG companies (of which State is the country’s largest direct insurer) have paid out close to $1b in claims. That’s over $1.7m a day since the first big quake on 4 September, 2010. And we have a clear plan through 2012 to accelerate rebuilds in safe areas of the city as we, and our customers, know more about the risk.
Claims that insurers may be sitting on money from international reinsurers in order to profit from the situation are simply not true. In fact, reinsurance only pays out when an insurance claim has been settled. It is in all our interests to settle claims as quickly as possible.