China Taiping Insurance pulls out of NZ market

WELLINGTON -- China Taiping Insurance (NZ), the New Zealand arm of the Hong Kong-listed insurer, announced Wednesday it was leaving the New Zealand market immediately.

Reports said the company, which offered both business and domestic coverage, had told local brokers it was having difficulty obtaining reinsurance after a series of natural disasters across Asia and the Pacific last year.

A two-sentence statement on the company's website said: "China Taiping Insurance (NZ) Co Ltd is no longer offering insurance in New Zealand from 01.08.2012. However, all existing policies will remain active until the policy periods end."

The BusinessDesk news service reported that general manager Richard Sun had said in a letter to brokers that the company "has reinsurance for existing policies and expects to have sufficient reinsurance until all existing policies expire."

"It may take several years to settle claims and close down the business," he reportedly wrote.

The Reserve Bank of New Zealand (RBNZ) had been notified of Auckland-based Taiping's decision to exit the local market and said the company was "currently complying with all the RBNZ requirements," according to the report.

In May, the insurer reportedly told brokers it would no longer underwrite any new business in Wellington or Canterbury after reinsurers forced it to clamp down on its criteria.

The same month, the RBNZ said it expected reinsurance premiums to rise this year as global firms looked to recoup the losses incurred by the Canterbury earthquakes, the Japanese tsunami, Australian storms and Thailand floods.

China Taiping Insurance (NZ), part of China Taiping Insurance Group, had been operating since 1994, according to its website.

China Taiping Insurance Group claims to be amongst the top insurance companies of the world with more than 20 subsidiaries across the globe in Europe, the United States, Japan, China's Hong Kong, and Southeast Asia.