Appendix: Civic Assurance and LAPP

How Christchurch City Council managed conflicts of interest when it made decisions about insurance cover.

The trading name of New Zealand Local Government Insurance Corporation Limited is Civic Assurance. It was formed under the Municipal Insurance Act 1960 and has been trading since 1961. It provides insurance for local authorities. Civic Assurance also administers several other funds operated by other entities, including Riskpool and the New Zealand Local Authority Protection Programme Disaster Fund (LAPP).

Local Government New Zealand (LGNZ) and Civic Assurance set up LAPP as a charitable trust in 1993. LAPP has traditionally provided insurance cover for essential services that it was impossible to obtain private cover for, such as storm water pipes and stopbanks for flood protection. In 2009, LAPP extended the cover it was able to offer to include cover for other council assets, such as buildings and their contents, and also for business interruptions. Only councils and council-controlled organisations can be members of LAPP.

LAPP is governed by trustees who are appointed by LGNZ, Civic Assurance, and the Society of Local Government Managers. LAPP is a separate legal entity to Civic Assurance, but Civic Assurance is the administration manager of the LAPP Fund.

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