FIBRETECH HOLDINGS LTD V VERO INSURANCE NEW ZEALAND LTD

[2021] NZHC 3104, New Zealand High Court, Justice Nation, 18 November 2021

Insurance (property) – Earthquake damage – Settlement agreement – Premiums wrongly paid after total loss – Whether settlement agreement applied premium recovery

The claimant’s building was damaged by earthquakes in 2010 and 2011. Renewal premiums were paid in the period 2013 to 2017. In 2018 the parties entered into a full and final settlement agreement under which it was agreed that the building had become a total loss, and that the settlement sum of $4,060,256.50 was in full and final settlement of any “claims, rights, demands and set-offs against Vero arising directly or indirectly out of, or in connection with the Earthquake Activity and/or the Earthquake Losses and/or the Material Damage Cover and/or the Policy whether such claims arise under statute, common law, or equity ...”.