Radio New Zealand - Te Reo Irirangi o Aotearoa

Insurance industry considers written-off homes register

Updated at 3:40 pm on 30 January 2013

The insurance industry has begun discussions around setting up a register of homes written off by insurers following the Christchurch earthquakes.

Some property investors have bought homes deemed unrepairable and are renting them out.

Insurance Council's chief executive Tim Grafton says potentially, these homes might be on-sold in the future to unsuspecting buyers who are unaware that the property can't be insured.

Mr Grafton says insurers could use the register to inform potential purchasers of a property's status when they applied for a mortgage.

He says in order to maintain the owner's privacy, the register would not be made available to the public.

Mr Grafton says discussions around bringing in the change are still in the early stages.

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