ODT

BusinessNovember 14

Tower seeks $71m for shaky balance sheet

New Zealand insurer Tower believes it needs nearly $71million to help bolster its balance sheet following the announcement of another loss for the financial year.

BusinessJune 11

Insurance rated a 'luxury'

With natural disasters prompting home and contents insurance premiums to soar 30%, a third of policy holders now rate insurance as a ''luxury''.

BusinessMay 3

Home insurance shift fraught

The insurance industry's move this year from offering unlimited replacement cover on homes to sum-insured cover remains fraught for householders.

BusinessAugust 6

Failed insurer's S&P rating withdrawn

Failed Queenstown boutique insurer Western Pacific Insurance, which owes more than $65 million to unsecured creditors, has had its credit rating withdrawn for having been in liquidation for more than 13 months.

NationalApril 9

North Island storm costs soar

The cost of two storms which hammered parts of Wanganui and Taranaki has reached $6 million according to one major rural insurer, with that company alone handling more than 1250 claims.

NationalJanuary 22

Quake-related insurance hikes for Kiwi homeowners

The financial shocks of the Canterbury earthquakes are being felt by homeowners throughout New Zealand this month, with the arrival of insurance bills in the post showing average increases of up to 30 percent.

BusinessJanuary 12

Profit warning prompts drop

Australia's largest insurer, QBE Insurance Group, came off a trading halt on the ASX yesterday to issue a shock profit warning, prompting a hammering of its shares and wiping 20% off its value.

DunedinDecember 28

Big cost for university to insure

The University of Otago will incur a significant financial hit to insure its $2.3 billion worth of building and contents assets next year.

NationalDecember 18

Lack of insurance stymies rebuilding plan

The first multilevel property planned for Christchurch's central-city red zone since the earthquakes is in doubt because of insurance problems.

BusinessDecember 9

Insurer to review premiums

Outspoken corporate advocate Bruce Sheppard has emerged as the champion of the elderly after Southern Cross was forced to announce an investigation of its premiums.

DunedinDecember 5

Insurance cover offered - quakes excluded

Dunedin has been offered insurance cover for the city's infrastructure assets - providing earthquakes are not included in the possible risks.

DunedinDecember 2

Catholic churches face premium rise

Dunedin's historic Catholic churches are next in line to face forecast rises in insurance premiums, which has been likened to a "tsunami about to hit".

DunedinNovember 29

Insurance offer before DCC staff

The future of the Dunedin City Council's infrastructure insurance is back in the hands of council staff, who will decide whether high prices and strict criteria are worth the cover offered.

North OtagoAugust 19

WDC's budget shaken

Insurance costs faced by the Waitaki District Council have taken a huge leap, but the rise will not affect ratepayers this financial year.

DunedinAugust 3

DCC plans self-cover

Insurance companies refusing to cover Dunedin's infrastructure because of post-earthquake fears about their own exposure are not turning down business.

DunedinJuly 30

Insurance renewals huge shock

Dunedin building owners face hikes of up to 300% in natural disaster insurance premiums, together with new excesses and even complete loss of cover, following the Christchurch earthquakes.

NewsJuly 20

ORC premiums up 36%

Otago Regional councillors are thankful the council has secured insurance given the circumstances after Christchurch's earthquakes.

DunedinJuly 9

No insurance cover for $1 billion of assets

More than $1 billion in underground infrastructure across Dunedin is without insurance against natural disasters, after international reinsurers baulked at the risk after the Christchurch earthquakes.

DunedinJune 27

Cover expected to cost at least 300% more

The Waitaki and Clutha District Councils will get insurance cover on their underground assets restored on Friday, but both are expecting to have to pay the insurer at least 300% more in premiums.

BusinessApril 13

Western Pacific owes almost $6m

Boutique Queenstown insurance company Western Pacific Insurance Ltd - placed in receivership a fortnight ago - owes almost $6 million to creditors and in unsettled insurance claims.

EditorialApril 11

What price insuring the insurers?

Four hundred and eight-five thousand New Zealand holders of AMI Insurance policies will have breathed a huge sigh of relief when the Government stepped in last week to guarantee the company's future - and thus its ability to pay out on claims.

DunedinMarch 20

Client rues lack of car-fire coverage

When Shaun Blondell looked outside his bedroom window to see a fireball explode from his car, he never thought it would result in the hardest insurance lesson of his life.

NationalJanuary 30

Fewer Kiwis have health insurance

The number of New Zealanders covered by health insurance dropped by 10,000 during 2010, but the dollar amounts of both claims and premiums rose.

BusinessDecember 2

Lyttelton Port working to determine quake insurance claim

Lyttelton Port Co says it is still working to determine its insurance claim following the September earthquake, despite media reports the claim could be between $50 million and $200 million.

NationalDecember 1

P lab claims increasing

The number of insurance claims for property damaged by methamphetamine, or P, is increasing, the Insurance Council says.