'QUAKE INSURANCE

Rotorua Morning Post, Volume 2, Issue 356, 18 October 1932, Page 3

'QUAKE INSURANCE

MR. JULL'S SCHEME GISBORNE'S MAYOR THINKS SCHEME EMINENTLY SOUND. NEED FOR 0ONSIDERATION. Gisborne, Monday. "In view of the extension in reeent months of the area of earthquake dis- ' turbances in this country, and the development of similar tremors in other parts of the world, the property owner who regards himself as safe* from the effects of an earthquake is not merely optimistic — he is foolish," commented the Deputy-Mayor, Mr. H. E. Maude, discussing at a meeting of the Gisborne Earthquake Relief Committee the proposal for a special fund f for the reli'ef of earthquake distress ' at any time in the future should he aecumulated by means of a surcharge on insuranee premiums. The subject of future relief was brought up by Mr. Maude as one on whieh the committe'e might express an opinion with some possibility of attracting publie attention to the matter. He stated that sinee he had ^ first made the snggestion of a sureharge on insuranee premiums, he "* had heard that Mr. A. E;. Jull, M.P., had put forward an almost identical sebeme in Parliament immediately af- ~ ter the 1931 earthquake, which so disastrously affected the Hawlce's Bay centres. It was significant, to his mind, that lvir. Jull's proposals had * not been given more attention, in view of the extreme interest taken in all developments in conneetion with the Hawke's Bay disaster, and the fate of that proposal illustrated the necessity of getting a body of publie opinion behind the scheme to force action hy the people in authority. Insuranee Franchise. The committee was unanimous in approving the scheme outlihed by Mr. Maude, and Mr. T. Corson agreed t© bring tlfe matter ufi at the next meeting of the Chamber of Commerce, for discussion and action. It was mentioned that people outside the present earthquake area might be uninterested in the proposals, unless they could be reminded that to-morrow or next week they might he in the position of having to seek means of relief from a disaster similar to that which had overtaken towns in Hawke's Bay and Poverty Bay. The point was emphasised that the sureharge of 2i per cent. on the fire insuranee pre- * miums eollected in New Zealand would not furnish sufficient revenue to make general relief availahle if a further disaster occurred within a year or two, but that, should there be no heavy ealls on the income of approximately £50,000 a year from this source, the total would soon amount to an impressive figure. During the discussion, the proposer stated that there was no present suggestion of a State earthquake insuranee scheme, but that that idea might be taken up in the eourse of years, when the aecumulated jfund might furnish the nueleus of an insuranee pool. The important fact revealed in the case of the recent earthquake in Gisborne was that even people who had insured against earthquakes in the ordinary way were required to - bear at least the first £50 worth of restoration cost themselves, this being the minimum franchise on earthquake policies. Under this provision, very few ef the property owners who had suffered loss would he able to secure any reparation from their insuranee companies, as in the majority of cases the individual losses were less than £50, though in the ag- ' gregate they probably would run well over £100, U00. After a lengthy discussion, in which many points raised in previous debates on the relief proposals were again referred to, the committee unanimously resnlved to forward the general outline of the proposals to the district members, Messrs. K. S. Williams and D. W. Coleman, for reference to the Government.