Insurance Council Welcomes Transfer of Civil Defence

19 November 2013

Insurance Council Welcomes Transfer of Civil Defence to Prime Minister’s Department

Placing New Zealand’s ability to manage risk from natural disasters at the highest levels of Government is “right on the button because we are one of the most vulnerable country’s in the world to natural disasters,” Insurance Council Chief Executive Tim Grafton said today.

The Insurance Council of New Zealand was responding to the announcement today that the Ministry of Civil Defence and Emergency Management will be transferred to the Department of Prime Minister and Cabinet.

“This is a very smart strategic move. It will enable better co-ordination of policy and planning across government to ensure New Zealand is more resilient to natural disasters.”

“If implemented well, it should mean that ultimately we have high quality mapping of natural hazards across the country, informing decisions that will enable communities and decision-makers to build resilience.”

“By doing this, the social and economic costs of future disasters will be far less. It will also help keep insurance affordable because failure to build resilience to risks will only see premiums rise in the future.”

A study for Lloyd’s of London in 2012 identified New Zealand as one of the most vulnerable countries in the world to natural disasters in terms of the size of our economy. New Zealand was ranked behind Bangladesh and Chile in the study.

ENDS

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