An increase in council insurance expenditure through a budget reforecast will increase rates for Central residents by between 0.5 and 0.75 per cent.

At the final Central Otago District Council meeting of 2022, councillors approved an increase in the budget of up to $212,000 for the financial year to accommodate a reported rise in insurance costs.

The council voted to receive a report outlining how the 2022 insurance renewal coincided with the council’s revaluations for Three Waters and property assets, which indicated a significant uplift in asset values. 

The increases in asset values and the recovery cost for some significant weather events have resulted in a substantial increase in material damage and business interruption insurance premiums.

Several factors have driven the overall increase in the material damage premium, including the addition of new assets constructed since the previous Three Waters valuation in 2020 needing to be insured, the acquisition of vested assets from new developments and increased construction and replacement costs.

Other areas of premium increase of note for the council include commercial motor vehicle cover, professional indemnity cover and cyber risk insurance.