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Assisting the Insurer in Cost Recovery — In accordance with the policy contract you as the insured must always act to protect the interests of the insurer and this means assisting them to recover their costs against the third party. If the insurer needs to take the third party to the Small Claims Tribunal in order to extract recovery, it is your responsibility to assist in this endeavour.
Although an inconvenience, the advantage is that if you haven’t already received a refund of your excess, you are likely to receive this if the action is successful. Also the amount of the claim will no longer be on your claims record as it will be reduced by the amount paid by the third party.
New Services
In our capacity as insurance brokers we often come across new services which may potentially be of interest to our clients and which may add value to their insurance / risk management programme.
Crash Brokers Ltd — If you have a motor vehicle claim, depending on your requirements we may refer you to Crash Brokers to provide an additional service. Whilst we continue to handle the claim in the normal manner, Crash Brokers take over a lot of the practicalities that can cause you inconvenience. Through Crash Brokers (phone 0800-227-274) we have access to a nationwide service which provides:
• Free pick up from home or office, or 24/7 salvage.
• Delivery of free late model courtesy car or van—the ultimate convenience.
• Free car valet for your comfort and convenience.
• Free quality inspection with written guarantee ensures peace of mind.
• Free re-delivery ensures continuous mobility and no down-time.
• All service providers are CRA certified Structural Repair Centres and accepted by all major insurance companies.
The pick up, delivery and courtesy car services are proving to be a great convenience for many of our clients.
Working Safe — Risk management is about insuring what you can’t afford yourself and managing the risk for those issues where it can be effectively minimised or eliminated. The Health & Safety in Employment Act has a number of ramifications for businesses.
There is the need to safeguard the health and safety of your staff and potentially minimise the risk of claims under your Statutory Liability policy. A safe working environment can have a number of spin-off benefits such as reduced downtime, decreased ACC payments etc.
However, a large amount of the risk management process is in the hands of your staff and by necessity is controlled by specialised training.
Working Safe have developed an online training programme for staff and management. Barley Insurances Ltd has purchased this system for its own needs and all staff have undertaken the training programme. If you are interested in investigating the suitability of
this product for your needs we direct you to www.workingsafe.co.nz and Keith Redit on 021-965-127 or keithr@workingsafe.co.nz.
Landlord Insurance
Approximately two years ago the insurance market offered for the first time the option of Malicious Damage by Tenants cover as part of a more comprehensive Landlord’s extension. Normally malicious damage by tenants is a specific exclusion. There is an
additional premium for this cover but when landlords are pushed to the financial limit with rising interest rates, damage to the rental property and resultant loss of income can potentially bring financial ruin.
We bring this option to your attention again, so that you can decide if it suits your budget and risk management needs.
In simple terms the Landlords extension provides cover for malicious damage by tenants, loss of rents and landlords liability. For example, we have a young landlord client who works hard at his day job. He was recently adversely affected by tenants who literally
trashed the property, leaving it in an appalling state.
Although the premium had been more expensive at the time, as our client utilised a property manager he had opted from the start to purchase the Landlord’s Extension. As a result the damage to his property and the resultant loss of income is covered, providing real financial security in these circumstances. The use of a property manager isn’t necessary in order to purchase this cover, however, it puts in place the necessary regular property and rental payment checks required under this policy.
