This omnibus Government bill seeks to let consumers and businesses effectively protect themselves against risk while minimising costs and impacts on insurers' willingness to provide insurance in New Zealand. It was enacted as the Contracts of Insurance Act 2024.
Parliament advanced this bill under urgency (second reading) — moving it through faster than usual, with less time than normal for public submissions.
This is an omnibus Government bill modernising the law on insurance contracts. Its headline change is to consumer duties: instead of an absolute duty to disclose everything a reasonable insurer might want to know, a policyholder need only "take reasonable care not to make a misrepresentation." Insurer remedies become proportionate to the policyholder's fault — automatic claim declines are limited to deliberate or reckless conduct. It also brings in protections against unfair contract terms and clearer, plainer policy wording. It affects everyone who buys insurance and every insurer.
The bill consolidates and replaces fragmented older law, including the Marine Insurance Act 1908, the Life Insurance Act 1908 (Part 5), the Insurance Law Reform Acts 1977 and 1985, and the Insurance Intermediaries Act 1994 (Part 4), broadly aligning with reforms in the United Kingdom and Australia. Supporters say it is fairer to honest consumers, matches remedies to actual culpability, and clarifies rights. Opponents warn of possible premium increases, added actuarial complexity in pricing partial claims, and compliance cost and uncertainty for insurers.
See the Parliament.nz ↗ site for the full bill.