Health and life insurers will be removed from New Zealand’s mandatory climate-related disclosure regime under changes announced by Commerce and Consumer Affairs Minister Cameron Brewer.
The move follows concerns from the insurance sector that climate reporting requirements were not well suited to their businesses, as they are generally not directly exposed to climate-related risks such as extreme weather events in the same way as general insurers.
Brewer said the change was intended to reduce compliance costs and ensure reporting obligations are focused on organisations where climate-related disclosures are considered most relevant. He said industry feedback indicated the requirements added costs that were ultimately passed on to customers.
The amendment will remove nine health and life insurers from the reporting framework. Combined with earlier changes that increased the reporting threshold for listed issuers to a market capitalisation of $1 billion and removed managed investment schemes from the regime, the number of entities required to report will fall from 164 to around 67.
Brewer said the remaining reporting entities would continue to include New Zealand’s largest businesses, which are considered to have the greatest capacity to meet disclosure requirements and the most significant impact on the economy.
The latest changes are aimed at narrowing the scope of the regime and reducing compliance obligations for businesses considered less exposed to those risks.
Image credit: HY S
