All cover · Employers liability

QBE vs Zurich — Employers liability

NZ's Accident Compensation Act bars most employer claims for accidental workplace injury — ACC absorbs them. Employers Liability fills the gap for gradual-process bodily injury (stress, occupational disease, asbestos) that ACC does not cover.

QBE

QBE Insurance (Australia) Limited (NZ branch)

Wording on file: QBE Employers Liability
Effective: 2022-11-01
Tier D (blocked) FCIB panel

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Zurich

Zurich Australian Insurance Limited (NZ branch)

Wording on file: Zurich Employers Liability
Effective: 2021-08-13
Tier D (blocked) FCIB panel

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Side-by-side fact comparison

Each row is a fact-key from the Employers liability wording. "Not on file" means either the wording doesn't address that fact, or Phase C structured-facts extraction hasn't been run yet on this insurer's wording.

Fact QBE Zurich
limit of indemnity options Not on file Not on file
gradual process handling Not on file For the purposes of this policy, disease shall be sustained when the employee is first exposed to conditions in New Zealand out of which the disease is subject of the claim.
acc interaction Cover A applies where Personal Injury was not a Personal Injury for which coverage is determined to exist under the Accident Compensation Act 2001 or any preceding, amending or replacement legislation. Cover B applies where Personal Injury was a Personal Injury for which coverage is determined to exist under the Accident Compensation Act 2001 or any preceding, amending or replacement legislation, covering Punitive or Exemplary Damages only. Cover A excludes any Personal Injury for which cover to any extent is provided by the Accident Compensation Act 2001, or would be so provided if the Insured were not an exempt employer, or would have been so provided had a claim been lodged under such legislation. Excluded: any personal injury for which cover to any extent is provided by the Accident Compensation Act 2001 or would have been, had a claim been made. Defence costs include the costs of applying to a Court to determine whether an employee's personal injury is properly covered by the Accident Compensation Act 2001 or any amendment to or re-enactment of that Act.
territory Personal Injury in New Zealand that arose out of, or in the course of such Employee's employment in the Business any liability for any claim arising out of personal injury for damages and defence costs suffered outside of New Zealand and from any proceeding brought in any Court outside of New Zealand.
jurisdiction This insurance shall be governed by the laws of New Zealand whose courts shall have jurisdiction in any dispute arising hereunder. The construction, interpretation and meaning of the provisions of this policy shall be determined in accordance with New Zealand law. In the event of any dispute arising under this policy including, but not limited, to its construction and/or validity and/or performance and/or interpretation, you will submit to the exclusive jurisdiction of any competent Court in New Zealand.
key exclusions
[
  "Any Personal Injury suffered by an Employee for which cover to any extent is provided by the Accident Compensation Act 2001 or any preceding, amending or replacement legislation (Cover A exclusion 1)",
  "Any Claim seeking aggravated, punitive, or exemplary damages (Cover A exclusion 2)",
  "Any Claim as a result of wilfully intentional or deliberate conduct of the Insured which it knew, or should have known, could cause injury to any Employee (Cover A exclusion 3)",
  "Any Claim resulting from, or contributed to by, any dishonest, fraudulent, criminal, or malicious act or omission of the Insured (Cover A exclusion 4)",
  "Any Claim arising out of failure to comply with any improvement, prohibition or suspension notice under the Health and Safety at Work Act 2015 (Cover A exclusion 5)",
  "Any Claim in respect of Personal Injury which would not be eligible for cover under the Accident Compensation Act 2001 (Cover B exclusion 1)",
  "Any Claim seeking any relief other than Punitive or Exemplary Damages (Cover B exclusion 2)",
  "Any Claim caused by wilfully reckless and/or contumelious conduct of the Insured (Cover B exclusion 3)",
  "Any Claim arising out of wilfully reckless omission to comply with any improvement, prohibition or suspension notice under the Health and Safety at Work Act 2015 (Cover B exclusion 4)",
  "Any Damages sought or awarded pursuant to a cause of action pleading or alleging trespass to the person, assault, battery, false imprisonment, intentional physical harm, malicious prosecution, sexual harassment or sexual abuse (General Exclusion 1)",
  "Any Claim as a result of the Insured directing an Employee to undertake activities otherwise than in the course of, or in connection with the usual activities of the Insured's Business (General Exclusion 2)",
  "Any Claim arising out of any event, circumstances or accident that occurred prior to the Retroactive Date (General Exclusion 3)",
  "Any liability under any judgment entered in any court other than a New Zealand court (General Exclusion 4)",
  "Any Claim arising from any event of which the Insured had become aware prior to the inception of the Period of Insurance and which a reasonable person would have considered may give rise to a Claim (General Exclusion 5)",
  "Any Claim in respect of losses directly or indirectly arising out of, resulting from or in consequence of, or in any way involving, asbestos or any materials containing asbestos in whatever form or quantity (General Exclusion 6)",
  "Any loss directly or indirectly caused by, resulting from or in connection with any Act of Terrorism (General Exclusion 7)",
  "Any loss where a Claim payment would breach any sanction, prohibition or restriction under United Nations resolutions or the trade or economic sanctions, laws or regulation of any country (General Exclusion 8)"
]
[
  "any liability of whatsoever nature in connection with, directly or indirectly caused by or contributed to by or arising from asbestos or asbestos products in whatever form or quantity",
  "any liability for, or fulfil any obligation in respect of any claim or defence costs, which are directly or indirectly caused by or contributed to, or arise directly or indirectly out of the action or effects of mould, fungi, mildew, rot, decay, gradual deterioration, micro-organisms, bacteria, protozoa or any similar or like forms, in any building or structure",
  "any liability of whatsoever in connection with or contributed to, or from a cyber event",
  "any personal injury for which cover to any extent is provided by the Accident Compensation Act 2001 or would have been, had a claim been made",
  "any personal injury which has resulted from any breach or contravention of any provisions of the Health and Safety at Work Act 2015 or any failure to comply with any improvement or prohibition notice issued thereunder",
  "any judgment entered in any Court other than a New Zealand Court, or any debt incurred by you as the result of such a judgment",
  "any claim which is or should properly be brought in the Employment Tribunal or Employment Court, or for any personal grievance",
  "any fines or penalties including any exemplary, punitive, liquidated or aggravated damages levied against you",
  "any claim made, threatened or in any way intimated against you and not notified to us prior to the commencement of the period of insurance or, if this policy is renewed, prior to the effective date of renewal",
  "any claim for personal injury which has taken place or allegedly taken place prior to the retroactive date stated in the schedule",
  "any circumstance or personal injury of which, at the commencement of the period of insurance or, if this policy is renewed, the effective date of renewal, you were aware or ought reasonably to have been aware and may give rise to a claim against you",
  "any liability arising out of any litigation in existence at the commencement of the period of insurance",
  "any ionising radiations or contamination by radioactivity from any nuclear fuel or from any nuclear waste from the combustion of nuclear fuel",
  "any nuclear weapons material",
  "any liability for any claim arising out of personal injury for damages and defence costs suffered outside of New Zealand and from any proceeding brought in any Court outside of New Zealand",
  "any death, injury, illness, loss, damage, costs or expenses of whatsoever nature caused by or arising out of war, invasion, act of foreign enemy, hostilities, civil war, rebellion, revolution, insurrection or military or usurped power or confiscation, nationalisation, requisition, destruction of or damage to property by or under the order of any government or public or local authority",
  "any act of terrorism or any action taken in controlling, preventing, suppressing or in any way relating to any act of terrorism"
]
hswa handling Cover A excludes any Claim as a result of an Employee sustaining Personal Injury which arose out of the failure by the Insured to comply with any improvement, prohibition or suspension notice issued to the Insured or its Employees under the Health and Safety at Work Act 2015. Cover B excludes any Claim as a result of an Employee sustaining Personal Injury which arose out of the wilfully reckless omission of the Insured to comply with any improvement, prohibition or suspension notice issued to the Insured under the Health and Safety at Work Act 2015. Excluded: any personal injury which has resulted from any breach or contravention of any provisions of the Health and Safety at Work Act 2015 or any failure to comply with any improvement or prohibition notice issued thereunder. Separately, penalties (defined to include reparation orders) imposed upon conviction for an offence under the Health and Safety at Work Act 2015 are defined but fines or penalties are excluded under Exclusion 5.5.
excess default The Excess specified in the Policy Schedule shall be borne by the Insured, uninsured and at its own risk, in respect of each and every Claim under this Policy. QBE's liability shall be in excess of this amount. The deductible means the amount you first bear in relation to each occurrence. The deductible applies to all amounts payable under this policy. Our liability under this policy applies only to that part of such claims exceeding the deductible stated in the schedule.
aggregation basis QBE's maximum liability during any one Period of Insurance for all Claims under Operative Clause 1 is limited to the Limit of Indemnity specified in the Policy Schedule, irrespective of the number of Claims made; or the number of Personal Injuries sustained; or whether indemnity is granted for Claims under either or both Cover A or Cover B of this Policy. All claims for damages and defence costs arising out of any one personal injury or inter-related personal injuries are deemed to be one claim. Any claim arising from inter-related personal injuries is deemed to have originated in the earliest period of insurance in which any of the personal injuries is first notified to us. Our liability to indemnify you for all claims is limited in the aggregate to the limit of liability specified in the schedule for any one period of insurance.
claims made trigger the Claim against the Insured was first made during the Period of Insurance; and the Claim was immediately notified in writing to QBE by the Insured during the Period of Insurance or within twenty-one (21) days of expiry, time being of the essence; and the Personal Injury arose out of an event, circumstance, accident or happening which occurred subsequent to the Retroactive Date and before the expiry of the Period of Insurance. claims for damages which you shall become legally liable to pay as a result of any direct employee (including any temporary or part-time employee) of yours sustaining personal injury arising out of or in the course of their employment and which is notified to us during the period of insurance stated in the schedule or within 30 days after its expiry, or, if exercised, the extended reporting period.
automatic extensions
[
  "Legal Costs and Expenses in addition to the Limit of Indemnity, in an amount equivalent to the Limit of Indemnity or NZD 1,000,000 whichever is the lesser (Limits of Indemnity clause 2)",
  "Where notice of a Claim is given during the Period of Insurance and an Employee makes further or different Claims in a subsequent period arising from the same event, all such additional claims are treated as if made in the Period of Insurance in which the first notice was originally given (Limits of Indemnity clause 3)",
  "Goods and Services Tax: where the Insured is liable to pay tax under section 5(13) of the Goods and Services Tax Act 1985 upon receiving any indemnity payment, QBE will indemnify the Insured for the cost of that tax, in addition to the Limit of Indemnity (General Condition 11)",
  "Circumstances Notified: provided notice has been given to QBE prior to expiration of the Period of Insurance, any Claim arising from the circumstances thus notified which is subsequently made after expiration shall be deemed to have been made and notified during the currency of this Policy (General Condition 6)"
]
[
  "Newly created or acquired subsidiary automatically included subject to written notice, underwriting information and payment of any additional premium required",
  "Subsidiary ceasing to be a subsidiary continues to be covered until expiry of the period of insurance in respect of personal injury that occurred after the retroactive date and until the date such entity ceased to be a subsidiary"
]
run off availability If QBE refuses to renew this Policy, the Insured may, upon payment of an additional premium of fifty per cent (50%) of the full annual premium payable for the expiring Period of Insurance, extend the cover under this Policy for a further twelve (12) months from the date of expiry, but only in respect of any Claims arising out of any Personal Injury which occurred before such expiry. This option to extend the Policy must be notified in writing to QBE within thirty (30) days of the Policy expiring. If we terminate or refuse to renew this policy, you are entitled to an extension of the cover granted under this policy for a further period of 12 months immediately following termination or non-renewal of the policy, but only in respect of any personal injury taking place both before the effective date of termination or non-renewal and after the retroactive date. If this right is exercised, then this further period shall be part of the last period of insurance and not an additional period. The entitlement to this extension must be exercised by written notice from you prior to the effective date of termination or within 30 days following the effective date of non-renewal.
retroactive date handling The Retroactive Date means the date specified as such in the Policy Schedule. Any Claim as a result of an Employee sustaining Personal Injury that arose out of any event, circumstances or accident that occurred prior to the Retroactive Date is excluded under General Exclusions clause 3. Provided that the personal injury has taken place on or after the retroactive date. Any claim for personal injury which has taken place or allegedly taken place prior to the retroactive date stated in the schedule is excluded.
occurrence basis vs claims made claims_made claims_made
defence costs in or outside limit outside_limit in_limit
reparation orders covered Not on file penalties mean any court costs, reparation order, prosecution witness costs and expenses and prosecution solicitors' costs imposed by the Court on you, upon conviction for an offence under the Health and Safety at Work Act 2015.