The Insurance Council of New Zealand (ICNZ) has welcomed the confirmation from the New Zealand Government that insurance is one of the identified essential services to New Zealanders during the Covid-19 Alert Level 4 period – in place from 11:59 25 March 2020.

Tim Grafton, CE ICNZ, says; “Insurance is a vital service to support the financial resilience of New Zealand and we are glad it has been identified as one of the essential services during this time.

“Furthermore, we commend the Reserve Bank of New Zealand and the Financial Markets Authority, as part of the Council of Financial Regulators, who have today provided greater clarity with a full list of registered insurers and essential supply chain functions after consulting with Government.

“New Zealanders can have confidence that should the unexpected happen during the Alert Level 4 period their insurer will be there to help and will be able to arrange emergency and critical safety repairs,” says Mr Grafton.

New Zealand insurers are committed to supporting their customers, especially during this time and have put measures in place to maintain their services. Should a service be required in person all necessary steps to ensure it is done in a way that limits or eliminates the risk of spreading Covid-19 will be taken.

All ICNZ members have activated their business contingency plans (BCP), scaling up their work from home capacity to protect their staff and are well equipped to maintain their level of service to their customers.

“If you need your insurer don’t hesitate to contact them. New working arrangements mean it may take a little longer for them to respond, so we ask people to try to be patient.”

More information on essential services can be found at covid-19.govt.nz and the list of insurers and essential supply chain functions can be found on the RBNZ website.