1) Our Mission
To ensure the long-term provision of stable, cost-effective, and proactive risk financing solutions for the local government sector.
2) Civic Assurance Today
Civic Assurance and LAPP (see below) are New Zealand's largest insurer of rate-payer owned assets and together protect over $20 billion of local government owned assets.
Civic:
• Has returned nearly $30 million to shareholding local authorities as dividends
• Sponsors Society of Local Government Management American exchange programme.
74 out of 85 councils are shareholders of Civic Assurance.
Civic Assurance operates in a fully competitive environment, but is the only New Zealand specialist local government insurer. In view of the specific and unusual insurance exposures faced by our local government clients, a key objective of Civic Assurance is to provide stability and long term assurance of access to specialist risk financing facilities.
To achieve this objective, we have expanded our focus from traditional insurance-based products to include areas of risk financing, particularly of a mutual funding nature.
The company's claims paying ability has been rated (A) Excellent by AM Best since 1995.
AM Best Ratings Table
| Rating |
Description |
A++, A+
A, A-
B++, B+
B, B-
C++, C+
C, C-
D
E
F
S |
Superior
Excellent
Very Good
Fair
Marginal
Weak
Poor
Under regulatory supervision
In Liquidation
Suspended |
As an underwriting member of the Insurance Council of New Zealand (Inc), Civic Assurance exceeds their minimum solvency standards by a considerable margin.
3) Subsidiary Companies
Civic Assurance has three active wholly-owned active subsidiaries:
• Local Government Superannuation Trustee Limited
• Local Government Mutual Funds Trustee Limited (RiskPool)
• New Zealand Local Government Finance Corporation Limited
In addition, Civic Assurance is the Fund Administrator for the New Zealand
Local Authority Protection Programme Disaster Fund (LAPP), the owner of Civic Assurance House (a nine-storey building on Lambton Quay) and a 25% shareholder in Local Government Online Ltd.
4) Civic Assurance History
1941 - establishment of the Counties Cooperative Insurance Company of New Zealand (CCIC) to service the insurance needs of rural-based local authorities.
1960 - establishment of the New Zealand Municipalities Cooperative Insurance Company Ltd (MCIC), to meet the specific insurance needs of the municipal local authorities throughout New Zealand.
1989 - following New Zealand local government reforms, MCIC purchased the insurance portfolio of CCIC and changed its name to New Zealand Local Government Insurance Corporation Limited (LGIC).
1999 - LGIC rebranded to trade as Civic Assurance.