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Speaker 1: AA Insurance is announce they will not be accepting any

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Speaker 1: new insurance policies on homes in Westport. This is because

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Speaker 1: the flooding the weather events. Darryl Loue is West Coast

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Speaker 1: Regional Countis Chief Executive with me this morning. Daryl, Good morning,

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Speaker 1: Good morning Ryan. This is temporary, isn't it. They said

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Speaker 1: they will come back if you can show them it's safer.

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Speaker 2: Yes, that's correct, it is temporary. West Countries or councils

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Speaker 2: are currently building seventeen kilometers of flood banking and in

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Speaker 2: the town the first of a flood protection skinning for Westport.

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Speaker 2: And as we do that, we'll write to all insurance

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Speaker 2: companies and insurance council with the revised flood hazard maps

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Speaker 2: in the hope insurance market will come back to bear

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Speaker 2: with more favorable offerings for the town.

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Speaker 1: Darryl, If you were wanting to take out a new

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Speaker 1: policy on a new home, they would say no. But

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Speaker 1: if you have an existing If someone has an existing

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Speaker 1: policy on a home and they sell it is can

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Speaker 1: the home continue to be covered?

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Speaker 2: That's my understanding. But lo, that's a question for them

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Speaker 2: insurance company. What we want to try and do is

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Speaker 2: really prime the insurance market and make that much more

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Speaker 2: competitive by writing to all insurance companies. Once we start

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Speaker 2: building and progressive, we build the flood the flood banks

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Speaker 2: to try and get a much more favoral insurance situation

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Speaker 2: for the people of westbook Dal.

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Speaker 1: Have they been specific about exactly what they would need

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Speaker 1: to see before they come back.

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Speaker 2: No, they haven't, but to be fair on we are

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Speaker 2: meeting with them in a couple of weeks to discuss

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Speaker 2: all of that and what.

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Speaker 1: About the others any of them looking shaky.

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Speaker 2: The main insurance the town is AA, the predominant insurance,

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Speaker 2: so really they've got the largest market share. But irrespective

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Speaker 2: of that, West Coast Regional Council wants to write to

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Speaker 2: all insurance companies and the insurance council who have been

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Speaker 2: in discussions with to try and get a better market

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Speaker 2: going from those insurance companies. Given the less of flood risk,

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Speaker 2: given the investment we're making in the flood banking.

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Speaker 1: And dere who pays for that investment? Can the council

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Speaker 1: afford to keep doing this or you know, and we've

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Speaker 1: got a rates cap potentially coming, who pays for all this?

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Speaker 1: And is it a you know, are you asking for

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Speaker 1: money from central government.

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Speaker 2: For the last few years, the central government has been

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Speaker 2: back in providing funding for flood schemes for the first

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Speaker 2: time since Ministry workstays and we're partnering and it's been

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Speaker 2: and we're very grateful for it. For the communities of

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Speaker 2: the West Coast and right around New Zealand. From the

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Speaker 2: regional council sector, we're partnering with the government with local

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Speaker 2: money and government money going in to pay for these

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Speaker 2: flood schemes.

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Speaker 1: Darrell, appreciate your time, Darryl Lue West Coast Regional Council,

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Speaker 1: Chief Executive.

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