Trade Me Insurance creates no-go zones

CHRISTCHURCH homeowners who want to buy insurance online from Trade Me may find themselves out of luck.

Trade Me began selling home, contents and car insurance yesterday through a partnership with insurer Tower.

But Trade Me said it could not quote online for home insurance in parts of Canterbury and some other areas that might be subject to ‘‘complex risks’’.

Trade Me Insurance general manager Conor Sligo initially said it would not be able to provide insurance in those areas, saying it would not have the ability to get the information it needed to make a fair decision.

But he later clarified that Trade Me Insurance might be able to provide home insurance to some of those customers.

Some Christchurch residents found Trade Me refused to give a quote once they keyed their address into the insurance website.

Instead they saw a message: ‘‘We’re sorry, but the details you’ve given mean that we’re currently unable to offer you cover.’’

Sligo did not know the specific areas where the exclusions applied. As far as he knew, Trade Me Insurance’s approach was consistent with other online insurers.

Insurance Council spokeswoman Sarah Knox said each insurer approached the risk in Christchurch differently.

Tower would underwrite Trade Me Insurance’ policies, but the insurance products and pricing would be different to those offered by Tower, he said.

A dedicated team has been set up within Tower to handle customer service for Trade Me Insurance customers.

Trade Me members, who number more than 3 million, will be able to buy policies for 15 per cent less than non-Trade Me members.

Tower chief executive David Hancock said the partnership was an important initiative for Tower.

‘‘What’s most exciting about Trade Me Insurance is that it offers general insurance customers an end to end digital solution from quote to claim, and gives customers greater flexibility and choice.’’