30 June 2017
Insurance Council supports new meth standard
The Insurance Council of New Zealand supports the new standard for methamphetamine contamination, sampling and testing
announced recently by the government.
“There are numerous conflicting messages about meth contamination and insurers have seen increasing numbers of claims
from property owners who are faced with levels of contamination from tenants passively smoking P right through to
contamination from meth labs” said Insurance Council Operations Manager Terry Jordan.
The science relating to the health effects of meth contamination isn’t clear and internationally, there is a wide range
of measures and different standards, defining when a property is safe to re-occupy following meth contamination.
“On balance, insurers support the increase from 0.5µ/100cm2 to 1.5µ/100cm2 which better reflects the current scientific
understanding of the health risks of methamphetamine” he said.
“With the requirement in the new standard for sampling and remediation companies to be independent from each other, the
Insurance Council believes there will be less room in the market for the “cowboy” clean up companies that prey on the
fears of tenants and landlords.
The objective of the standard is to identify methods of testing properties that provide reliable results and identifies
decontamination and remediation processes that are effective and enables properties to be safely reoccupied in a
cost-effective manner.
Claims for meth contaminated properties have been steadily rising in recent years and are now estimated to cost insurers
in excess of $30 million per year or 100 properties per month.
Insurers coverage of losses from methamphetamine contaminated properties ranges from exclusion, to increased excesses,
to coverage but with sub-limits, to full cover but with requirements for checking tenants and undertaking regular
property inspections. Some insurers are reviewing their policy wording to clarify contamination levels that relate to
losses.
Property owners need to be made aware of the requirement to disclose methamphetamine contamination in the properties to
their insurer.
ENDS