Cosgrove Clayton: Insurance (Prudential Supervision) Amendment Bill Reserve Bank of New Zealand Amendment Bill — Third ReadingsText is incorporated into the Bound VolumeCosgrove Clayton: Insurance (Prudential Supervision) Amendment Bill Reserve Bank of New Zealand Amendment Bill — Third Readings[Sitting date: 27 August 2013. Volume:693;Page:12814. Text is incorporated into the Bound Volume.]Hon CLAYTON COSGROVE (Labour): I do not intend—as National is—filibustering this legislation arising from the Insurance (Prudential Supervision) Amendment Bill. Labour members intend to facilitate its passage rapidly because we do support it. It does make a number of technical changes which we support to the prudential and regulatory framework governing the insurance sector.I just want to simply touch on two points. First I want to reinforce what Mr Parker said in respect of outstanding business in terms of the Reserve Bank contemplating increasing the prudential requirements on the insurance sector from 500 to 1000 years.Mr Parker made a good point: if that translates to increased cost and increased premium then despite the Canterbury earthquake you could have a bizarre situation where yes prudentially the insurance companies’ requirements are increased however it is too tough for people to get insurance or the appropriate level of insurance and pending—God forbid—we have another disaster like Christchurch we are in a situation of underinsurance.The final thing I want to say is this. Though we support this legislation as a Canterbury MP I just want to say this to the insurance industry. It is appropriate that we are protected and ensure that that sector has an appropriate regulatory framework. But I bring this message to that insurance sector from the people of Christchurch and other places. There is an expectation when Kiwis who have paid insurance premiums all our lives collectively—and none of us until the Canterbury earthquakes really thought that we would ever make a call on that insurance unless Johnny throws the cricket ball through the window as it were or in a minor way—and there is a great almost loathing to some extent of that sector and the inability of that sector to pay out appropriately and swiftly and to a high degree of frequency.I accept that the Canterbury earthquakes are an extremely complicated matter. There are a number of strands that have to be resolved but Mr and Mrs Cantabrian sitting in their munted house 3 years after the event—having paid insurance premiums all their lives having the insurer ring them up if they are a day late or a week short or whatever and making damn sure that they pay—expect that insurance companies will pay up in the appropriate time. In the policies of most people if not all people they say words to the effect that insurers should settle in a reasonable period of time.I note that the Prime Minister of Australia when he was first Prime Minister and they had the Queensland floods came over to Christchurch—in fact Labour members met with him. We asked him whether he was having the same difficulty with insurers that we were having in terms of getting them to write cheques so people could get on with their lives. He said in effect yes. We asked him what he did about it and he basically said that he called the insurers into his office read the Riot Act and threatened to regulate them if they did not start paying out. They reached as I understand it some sort of voluntary time frame—John Hayes: Is this a filibuster when you don’t filibuster?Hon CLAYTON COSGROVE: —I know that this does not affect Mr Hayes—and 12 months later you had new houses being built further up the hill in Queensland outside the flood-prone areas.We today have people longing to get on with their lives. Charitable organisations in Christchurch which cannot move along are now having to spend many of the charitable dollars they ordinarily would not on overheads like rent on buildings because the insurance company week after week and year after year and engineering report after engineering report will not settle—and likewise with individual Cantabrians and others.I just conclude by saying that it is noteworthy that this legislation looks to protect and enhance the regulatory and prudential framework of the insurance sector. But I say to the insurance sector that many in this Parliament and many New Zealanders around the country demand that they do their bit and that when the chips are down and people have paid and they need their lives put back together insurance companies pay out and pay out swiftly.