Peters Questions Insurance Increase

new-zealand-first-party

Tue May 10 2011 12:00:00 GMT+1200 (New Zealand Standard Time)

Peters Questions Insurance Increase

Tuesday, 10 May 2011, 2:45 pm
Press Release: New Zealand First Party

Rt. Hon Winston Peters

Leader NZ First

May 10th 2011

PRESS RELEASE

Peters Questions Insurance Increase

Rt. Hon Winston Peters says insurance companies need to do some more detailed explaining about why household premiums are increasing by up to 50 percent.

The increase is allegedly due to the cost of reinsurance following disasters in the Asia Pacific area including the Christchurch earthquakes, the Japan tsunami the Queensland floods.

Mr Peters says only last month it was forecast the cost of insurance could spike 20 per cent as a result of the Government bailout of AMI Insurance and the mounting cost of the Canterbury earthquakes.

“Householders are entitled to know why premiums are soaring when insurance companies have been collecting premiums for many decades from people who thought they would be covered for any calamity.

“Insurance companies employ highly paid risk assessors and have access to all the information they need to calculate risk and to base their premiums on those risks.

“There should be billions of dollars accumulated unless the insurance money has been badly invested or used for other purposes.”

Mr Peters says the insurance companies have been boasting for years about how well run they are but the moment something untoward happens they go bleating to the government or push premiums through the roof.

“New Zealand needs to go back to its own state-owned insurance company because it is obvious that private enterprise has again failed ordinary people.”

ENDS

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