Insurance woes top Christchurch manufacturers' concerns this Christmas

Wednesday 21st December 2011

The New Zealand Manufacturers and Exporters Association says insurance worries top their concerns, with insurance companies happy to sell cover but slow to pay out following Christchurch’s earthquakes.

Insurance, electricity line charges and the impact of the quakes on the labour market remain key concerns, the association said in a statement.

“There is hardly a company I talk to that doesn’t have a complaint regarding their insurance company,” said John Walley, chief executive at NZMEA. “The sentiment is becoming litigious as loss adjusters try to weasel their way out of business interruption claims.

The insurance companies were happy to sell cover but seem equally happy to avoid paying out.” Insurance companies’ tardiness is holding the recovery back, the association said, while members are concerned an increase in construction could crowd the labour market for existing firms, artificially raising wages and threatening long-term jobs.

“There are a number of issues for local authorities and central government to work through. Zoning changes in the city plan, which create new residential areas that were previously industrial, could prevent manufacturing firms from gaining consents for new activities not covered by existing provisions,” said Walley.

BusinessDesk.co.nz

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