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| Headquarters | Christchurch, New Zealand |
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Parent organization | IAG New Zealand |
| Website | www.ami.co.nz |
Formerly called | Allied Mutual Insurance |
AMI Insurance began in Christchurch, New Zealand, in 1926 as the South Island Motor Union (SIMU), and grew to be the second biggest residential insurer in New Zealand. [1] It was a mutual insurance company, meaning it was owned by its policy holders, until it was bought out by IAG New Zealand in 2011, following the 2011 Christchurch earthquake.
After the Christchurch earthquakes of 2010 and 2011, there was uncertainty about AMI's financial state, due to doubt over obtaining sufficient reinsurance cover for further earthquakes, plus lack of exact figures from the government's EQC to indicate how much of the earthquakes' insurance costs would have to come from Allied Mutual Insurance (AMI). The New Zealand government talked of bailing out the company up to $1,000 million [2] because of the chaos that would ensue if it collapsed. The government eventually agreed to a NZ$500 million support deed. However, large losses led to a $76 million shortfall of its $198.6 million regulatory capital requirement and so forced the controversial [3] [4] sale of AMI to IAG New Zealand, the local arm of Australia and New Zealand's largest insurance company, Insurance Australia Group. IAG NZ had already acquired major insurance names in New Zealand, such as NZI (formerly New Zealand Insurance) and State Insurance, and with acquiring AMI's business (other than Christchurch earthquake-related work) IAG covered 60% of the domestic insurance market.
The government created a government-owned company, Southern Response Earthquake Services, to take over the part of AMI's work that related to the Christchurch earthquake repairs. It was responsible for settling claims by AMI policyholders for Canterbury earthquake damage that occurred before 5 April 2012. [5] Perceived poor performance of that organisation led to some protests [6] [7] and a lawsuit, [8] but a large percentage of the easier repairs were actioned despite a period of work outstripping resources in post-quake Canterbury.
In 2018 it was revealed that four years earlier Southern Response had employed private investigation company Thompson and Clarke to attend and record public meetings held by groups of AMI/Southern Response claimants. A report by the State Services Commission found that in doing so Southern Response had acted inconsistently with the State Services Code of conduct on a number of occasions in 2014–2016. [9]
On 23 July 2020, IAG announced that AMI would be closing all of its 53 branches and its remaining State office in New Zealand in phases. The Albany, Botany, Te Rapa, Mount Maunganui, Wellington, Hornby, and Dunedin offices would close in June 2021 while most remaining offices would close on 18 September. The Timaru branch would remain open until 27 November 2020. 65 branch manager jobs would be eliminated while 350 jobs would be transferred to customer service and other departments. [10]
Canterbury is a region of New Zealand, located in the central-eastern South Island. The region covers an area of 44,503.88 square kilometres (17,183.04 sq mi), making it the largest region in the country by area. It is home to a population of 655,000.
Christchurch is the largest city in the South Island of New Zealand and the seat of the Canterbury Region. Christchurch lies on the South Island's east coast, just north of Banks Peninsula on Pegasus Bay. The Avon River / Ōtākaro flows through the centre of the city, with an urban park along its banks. The city's territorial authority population is 389,300 people, and includes a number of smaller urban areas as well as rural areas. The population of the urban area is 377,900 people. Christchurch is the second-largest city by urban area population in New Zealand, after Auckland. It is the major urban area of an emerging sub-region known informally as Greater Christchurch. Notable smaller urban areas within this sub-region include Rangiora and Kaiapoi in Waimakariri District, north of the Waimakariri River, and Rolleston and Lincoln in Selwyn District to the south.
Earthquake insurance is a form of property insurance that pays the policyholder in the event of an earthquake that causes damage to the property. Most ordinary homeowners insurance policies do not cover earthquake damage.
ChristChurch Cathedral, also called Christ Church Cathedral and (rarely) Cathedral Church of Christ, is a deconsecrated Anglican cathedral in the city of Christchurch, New Zealand. It was built between 1864 and 1904 in the centre of the city, surrounded by Cathedral Square. It became the cathedral seat of the Bishop of Christchurch, who is in the New Zealand tikanga of the Anglican Church in Aotearoa, New Zealand and Polynesia.
Lancaster Park, also known as Jade Stadium and AMI Stadium for sponsorship reasons, was a sports stadium in Waltham, a suburb of Christchurch in New Zealand. The stadium was closed permanently due to damage sustained in the February 2011 earthquake and subsequently demolished in 2019. It was reopened in 2022.
Insurance Australia Group Limited (IAG) is a multinational insurance company. It is the largest general insurance company in Australia, and also the largest in New Zealand through its subsidiary IAG New Zealand. IAG had its origins in the National Roads and Motorists' Association (NRMA). It is headquartered in Sydney, Australia.
State Insurance is an insurance company based in New Zealand. As of 2011, it is a business division of IAG New Zealand, a subsidiary of Insurance Australia Group.
Sir Robert John Parker is a former New Zealand broadcaster and politician. He served as Mayor of Christchurch from 2007 to 2013.
IAG New Zealand is the New Zealand subsidiary of Insurance Australia Group. It is the largest general insurance company in New Zealand, just as its parent is the largest in Australia. It has a number of insurance brands it has acquired, including AMI Insurance, NZI and State Insurance. Its head office is in Auckland, New Zealand, and it has several offices throughout the country.
The Earthquake Commission,, is a New Zealand Crown entity that invests in natural disaster research and education as well as providing natural disaster insurance to residential property owners. In March 2022, a bill was introduced to, among other changes, update the name of the Earthquake Commission to Toka Tū Ake – Natural Hazards Commission.
The 2010 Canterbury earthquake struck the South Island of New Zealand with a moment magnitude of 7.1 at 4:35 am local time on 4 September, and had a maximum perceived intensity of X (Extreme) on the Mercalli intensity scale. Some damaging aftershocks followed the main event, the strongest of which was a magnitude 6.3 shock known as the Christchurch earthquake that occurred nearly six months later on 22 February 2011. Because this aftershock was centred very close to Christchurch, it was much more destructive and resulted in the deaths of 185 people.
A major earthquake occurred in Christchurch on Tuesday 22 February 2011 at 12:51 p.m. local time. The Mw6.2 earthquake struck the entire of the Canterbury region in the South Island, centred 6.7 kilometres (4.2 mi) south-east of the central business district. It caused widespread damage across Christchurch, killing 185 people, in New Zealand's fifth-deadliest disaster.
The Canterbury Earthquake Recovery Authority was the public service department of New Zealand charged with coordinating the rebuild of Christchurch and the surrounding areas following the 22 February 2011 earthquake. After it was disestablished on 18 April 2016, CERA's functions were taken over by a variety of other agencies.
The June 2011 Christchurch earthquake was a shallow magnitude 6.0 Mw earthquake that occurred on 13 June 2011 at 14:20 NZST. It was centred at a depth of 7 km (4.3 mi), about 5 km (3 mi) south-east of Christchurch, which had previously been devastated by a magnitude 6.2 MW earthquake in February 2011. The June quake was preceded by a magnitude 5.9 ML tremor that struck the region at a slightly deeper 8.9 km (5.5 mi). The United States Geological Survey reported a magnitude of 6.0 Mw and a depth of 9 km (5.6 mi).
Deon William Swiggs is a New Zealand politician serving as the Environment Canterbury Councillor representing the Christchurch West/Ōpuna Regional Constituency. He previously served as the Christchurch City Councillor representing the Central ward from 2016 to 2019. Prior to Swiggs being elected, he was most well known for his participation in Rebuild Christchurch, an organisation founded after the 2010 Canterbury earthquake.
Miyamoto International is a global structural engineering and disaster management firm best known for its work in California earthquake design for new and existing buildings as well as in the reconstruction of Port-au-Prince, Haiti and Christchurch, New Zealand following earthquakes in 2010 and 2011. Based in West Sacramento, California, the company has 25 offices in 12 countries worldwide.
An earthquake occurred in Christchurch on 14 February 2016 at 1:13 p.m. local time and initially recorded as 5.9 on the Richter scale, but subsequently reviewed as 5.7. Often referred to as the Valentine's Day earthquake, it was centred in the sea off New Brighton at a depth of 15 kilometres (9.3 mi). It was the first large earthquake that the Christchurch area had experienced since May 2012, and it was part of the earthquake sequence that started with the 4 September 2010 Canterbury earthquake.
Thompson & Clark Investigations Ltd, known as Thompson and Clark or TCIL is a New Zealand private investigation agency founded in 2003 by principals Nicolas Guy 'Nick' Thompson and Gavin Shane Clark. The company has been involved in repeated scandals over spying on environmentalist and activist groups, often on behalf of government agencies and state-owned enterprises. In December 2018 after a scandal involving spying for government agencies the company was removed as a preferred supplier by the New Zealand Government.
The residential red zone refers to areas of land in and around Christchurch, New Zealand, that experienced severe damage in the 2010 and 2011 Christchurch earthquakes and were deemed infeasible to rebuild on. Through voluntary buyouts, the Crown acquired and demolished or removed over 8,000 properties. The majority were located in a broad swath of the eastern suburbs along the Avon River / Ōtākaro that had suffered damage from soil liquefaction.
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