Property insurance: reinstatement of cover

In New Zealand it is common for property policies to contain reinstatement clauses, whereby if a claim is paid by the insurers then the amount of cover is automatically reinstated subject to the payment of an additional premium if required. In Annex Developments Ltd v IAG New Zealand Ltd [2017] NZHC 706, Associate Judge Matthews was required to decide whether reinstatement was triggered by actual payment only, or whether sums that should have been paid but were not paid themselves triggered reinstatement so that the full amount of policy cover remained in place for any future losses.

Annex : the facts