Fires Leave Rural Folk Exposed to Compensation Claims

Fires Leave Rural Folk Exposed to Compensation Claims

Bush fires have been tormenting the South Island but not enough rural property owners fully appreciate the crippling costs of scrub fires, according to rural insurance expert Gert Stander.

“Aside from your home, you need to think about your machinery, your crops - and most importantly - the potential liability to your neighbours and the fire service if a fire starts on your property,” says Mr Stander, rural insurance broker with Crombie Lockwood. “The cost of these fires for individual households could run into the millions.”

Massive scrub fires in Canterbury, Marlborough and Otago over the past few weeks have demonstrated that any location on the East Coast could become a fire-fighting hotspot.

The fire-fighting cost of last week’s blaze at Flockton Hill would be hundreds of thousands of dollars with the use of a dozen aircraft and the Mr Stander said that the fire service would go looking for someone to bill.
This could even include billing neighbouring properties as the Fire Service argues that those properties would have been destroyed if fire fighters had not protected them.

Mr Stander says that a number of rural property owners have been tragically caught out by lack of insurance cover in the past, like a Nelson family who lost their home and savings in 2009 after they had to pay for an enormous fire-fighting bill that was not covered in their public liability insurance.

The large scrub fire in Prebbleton two years ago was particularly tragic as it affected 30 properties, destroyed businesses and homes, cost the Fire Service over $200,000 and left several uninsured or under-insured home owners in despair.

“Lifestyle block properties are particularly vulnerable as the sections are smaller and any fire major scrub fire has the potential to destroy several houses, compared to maybe one dwelling on a bigger property,” says Mr Stander.

The Crombie Lockwood broker advises any rural property owners to get good advice from a rural expert who should take look at your property or at least knows what questions to ask.
“Unfortunately, many people end up getting insurance from a sales person over the phone who may not have the rural knowledge to give you the appropriate advice.”

Stander says that Crombie Lockwood feels it has an ethical obligation to make sure its clients have appropriate cover and insist that every rural policy includes a minimum of $1 million forestry and rural fire cover. “That’s non-negotiable for us because for the modest amount of $70 a year, they just can’t take that risk.”

ENDS

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