The NEED for House Insurance - Christchurch Situation

[Super_BQ]

I just thought of throwing this up in the air. It seems that mother nature has and continues to hit Christchurch (and other places in NZ) all too often. Furthermore TV news showing the damage from gusty winds in the north, etc which only equates to more insurance claims. No wonder my house insurance has doubled in 3 years.

This concerns me greatly. If I look into the next 10 or 20 years, the amount going into insurance is substantial ($20K - $30K). What are the options? (not home owners with mortgages as home insurance is a requirement).

We are with State Insurance and it seems they've changed the fine print that replacement of the house comes at a cost figure. Problem is that replacement is based on 'standard' method of construction which means a house built on non-standard premium materials will not be replaced but rather, will be replaced with current standards materials. Likewise fixtures like built-in central vacuum systems will not be replaced as they are not 'standard options'. To get coverage for those would require a separate policy.

http://www.stephenfranks.co.nz/time-...thquake-sooks/

Earthquakes are in a class of risk which humans find difficult to keep in perspective. As MH370 shows we are transfixed by single events with an ultra low likelihood but numerous ‘innocent’ casualties. Flying and earthquakes are widely felt to be thousands of times more hazardous than in reality.

This is the perspective i'm getting at in this article. What are the likelihood risks? Fire? etc..

[GaryTeh]

I just thought of throwing this up in the air. It seems that mother nature has and continues to hit Christchurch (and other places in NZ) all too often. Furthermore TV news showing the damage from gusty winds in the north, etc which only equates to more insurance claims. No wonder my house insurance has doubled in 3 years.

This concerns me greatly. If I look into the next 10 or 20 years, the amount going into insurance is substantial ($20K - $30K). What are the options? (not home owners with mortgages as home insurance is a requirement).

We are with State Insurance and it seems they've changed the fine print that replacement of the house comes at a cost figure. Problem is that replacement is based on 'standard' method of construction which means a house built on non-standard premium materials will not be replaced but rather, will be replaced with current standards materials. Likewise fixtures like built-in central vacuum systems will not be replaced as they are not 'standard options'. To get coverage for those would require a separate policy.

http://www.stephenfranks.co.nz/time-...thquake-sooks/

Earthquakes are in a class of risk which humans find difficult to keep in perspective. As MH370 shows we are transfixed by single events with an ultra low likelihood but numerous ‘innocent’ casualties. Flying and earthquakes are widely felt to be thousands of times more hazardous than in reality.

This is the perspective i'm getting at in this article. What are the likelihood risks? Fire? etc..

So...your question is??

[Super_BQ]

Are we all fools for insurance compliance?

From a different perspective, would it be wise to construct a house way above minimum code to withstand such earthquakes and go without any insurance (if it was possible and the person could be mortgage free) ?

Not to say that insurance isn't important, just that from my observations, it seems everyone is paying the price for the damage caused by the Chch quakes (worldwide).