The Insurance Council is welcoming a High Court decision that says owners of existing commercial buildings do not need to strengthen them beyond 34% of the modern building standard.
The industry body took action against the Christchurch City Council over its policy requiring owners of quake-prone buildings to bring them up to 67% of the standard.
Insurance Council chief executive Tim Grafton says this policy was beyond what was required to make buildings safe and would add massively to the cost of upgrading them.
Mr Grafton says the lower standard his group advocated was backed up by the findings of the Canterbury Earthquakes Royal Commission.
