Insurers on track
Private insurers are on track to meet their target of having the majority of Kaikoura earthquake settlements complete by the end of the year, the Insurance Council of New Zealand said.
They have fully settled 69% of all residential and commercial claims for the November 14 earthquake.
“We are very pleased with our rate of progress and are on track to have in excess of 75% of all residential properties fully settled by year end,” said chief executive Tim Grafton.
“Insurers are acting as agents for the Earthquake Commission (EQC) and are managing most of the building and contents claims. We believe this is the model for the future as it has proven to deliver efficiencies for everyone by reducing double handling and speeding up settlements. Treasury is currently reviewing the EQC Act and the new Government has the opportunity to ensure insurers assess and manage all claims in future,” he said.
“As at October 31, 91% of all residential assessments have been complete with 65% of building claims fully settled and 92% of home contents claims fully settled. Private insurers have been settling at a rate of about 10% per month, so we are confident we will have the majority of claims closed out by the end of the year,” he said.
The total value of insurance claims for the November 14 Kaioura earthquake was more than $2 billion at the end of October, with most of the losses in commercial claims, at $1.47 billion.
Private insurers have received more than 44,000 claims, of which more than 39,000 are for residential home and contents claims.
Of commercial claims, 80% by number have been fully or partially settled by the end of October. In dollar terms, over $547 million of commercial claims have been partially or fully settled.
SMEs lack cyber cover
New Zealand small businesses are lagging in their uptake of cyber protection compared with their Australian counterparts, the Insurance Council of New Zealand said.
Only 6% of SMEs in New Zealand have cyber insurance, compared with 14% in Australia.
Insurance Council chief executive Tim Grafton said: “big corporates get it, we are seeing a real move to most having a cyber policy or at least a standing item on their board agendas.
“The real problem area is NZ small-medium enterprises. We are a nation of small businesses with 90%-plus of businesses in NZ under 20 employees. The common sorts of crypto attacks are unsophisticated, untargeted and while low in dollar value - usually sub $5000 - enough to be an annoyance and damaging to a small business.”
A recent Norton NZ small business security survey found one in five small businesses in New Zealand had been targeted by a cyber attack.
Nine out of 10 cyber incidents begin with a human error in the organisation being attacked, which makes education about cyber risks and robust cyber risk management extremely important. Victims are also very often unaware that a cyber breach has occurred; it may be some years before a breach or its consequences are discovered. The average amount of time a breach goes unnoticed is around nine months.
Insurance claim by chatbot
Insurance start-up Cove is to offer New Zealanders a service managed fully by chatbots.
The company, started by Andy Coon, Rob Coon and Brett Wilson, has been in the development phase for nearly a year.
Andy and Rob are sons of insurance industry stalwart Chris Coon.
“Most people we spoke to admitted they didn’t really understand how their insurance worked or what they’d actually bought. In general, what they wanted was an insurance experience that was quick and painless and provided them with rock-solid cover,” chief executive Andy Coon said.
“We took note of how simple and clear the customer processes are with Lemonade and the emerging breed of digital financial service providers, as well as how quickly they are gaining enormous popularity.”
He said chatbots could simplify the process of purchasing products such as insurance and make it a smoother process to navigate without reams of paperwork.
Chatbots can connect with a range of other technologies, such as facial recognition software, to detect a person’s age and health from a simple selfie.
Internationally, chatbots in the insurance industry have enabled claims to be paid in as little as three seconds, and policies purchased in just 90 seconds.
“Initially we are looking at offering insurance products that will be clear and easy to understand, easy to manage, and simple to purchase,” Rob Coon, head of product, said.
“Early feedback from consumer testing on our next range of insurance products has been extremely positive, and we look forward to introducing them to New Zealanders in 2018.”