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How is overpaying related to product innovation?

Insurers tend to have a reputation of holding on to every claim cent they can and only paying out when they absolutely have to – however it’s is more accurate to note that insurers pay out a lot of money to policy holders. Even overpaying when it is more affordable to do so.This may seem like a nonsensical statement but when the cost of investigating the claim – assessments, agent time spent on research, etc. – exceeds the cost of paying out the total amount of the benefit it is better f...

Construction And Building

Stockpiling headlines have become somewhat ‘old news’ in recent times, but the most recent iteration of hoarding has more far-reaching consequences than bare toilet roll aisles.In the face of shortage rumours and low-level shortages to certain materials caused largely by logistical issues due to the pandemic - building companies have been hoarding building supplies. Unfortunately, as is the case with toilet roll panic buying, this over buying and stockpiling actually causes the shortages the...

Insurance Claims After Canterbury Flooding

Recent floods in Canterbury have devastated several farms after heavy rains on Sunday and Monday 30/5 & 31/5. The damage to submerged farms, torn out fences, and stock losses have triggered around three-hundred insurance claims for just one rural insurance company.While it is still early days and too early to estimate the damage done, it can only be imagined as vehicles, buildings, and fencing have all seen damage.The three hundred claims are thought to be just the beginning, with over ...

The New Zealand Housing And Building Market Needs Attention

There are several problems facing the New Zealand housing market right now – and they cannot be explained by the simple adage of supply and demand.Stats NZ has released the new housing consent numbers and brings good news – a record high number of consents have been issued in the year ending March 31st 2021 – but for some reason no one expects house prices to fall. Not even the experts are questioning that even with supply going up the prices are still increasing – despite the ...

MYOB’s 2021 Business Monitor

MYOB’s 2021 Business Monitor - a nationwide survey of over 1,000 SMEs owners and decision makers - has revealed insights showing that over 25% of NZ’s Small and medium-sized enterprises are expecting a small increase in revenue over the next 12 months.This cautious optimism is balanced with conservative estimates from around 41% of respondents who expect the same level of revenue, and 25% who expect a lowered income over the next 12 months.  While this is accurately described as cautiou...

How to Create the Ownership Mentality in your Employees

It’s not that difficult to start a new business in New Zealand but becoming successful is the real challenge. Many people start new companies each year and a great percentage of them fail. Why? There are usually a variety of reasons, but one thing is clear. As you move forward trying to establish your new business, you’ll need hard-working, faithful employees to get the job done. And how do you get that? There are a few ways to create the ownership mentality in your employees. The busin...

Welcome everyone to our January Newsletter and Happy New Year to all

We wish all our friends and supporters a prosperous 2021.  We have attached some photos from what we got up to in 2020 – many of you will even remember these events first hand as you were there too!!  The focus for us in 2021 is the same as last year and every other year for that matter – support our clients & make sure they get the best service possible, support our staff, support our charities & community groups and try and have a good time while we are doing it. The...

Small Business Owners Looking to Minimise Credit Risks

 A new finding by the credit data corporation shows a shocking rise in financial hardship including small business owners. Though Kiwis have banded together and done a great job of navigating the Covid-19 crisis, everyone’s finances have been affected. The New Zealand way of life has been the envy of countries around the world. And yet, small businesses are struggling during these unprecedented times.Many economic experts believe that the full impact of the pandemic has still not been fel...

Home Building Costs Rising as Industries Sees Labour Shortages

According to experts, residential building costs will rise over the next year due to a couple of essential factors. Of course, every industry has been hit hard by covid-19. Though some construction projects have continued, progress has been slow. Now, in addition to coronavirus concerns, the industry is suffering from a shortage of skilled labour.  "Sourcing the proper building materials has been challenging," said one industry expert. "Suppliers in China and Asia are still sluggish in...

Building a new harbour crossing in a post-Covid economy

The recent accident where the Waitemata Harbour Bridge was damaged by a truck hit by a wind gust has everyone talking. Though the event only took 60 seconds to unfold, it stranded hundreds of travelers for hours. The whole city of Auckland has been talking about how to design and create a second harbour crossing. Though most agree that the need is urgent, no one wants to make a hasty decision here. All the professionals believe it’s important to consider the long-term cultural, social, ec...

Escalation of Building Costs Results in Domestic and Commercial Properties Being Underinsured

The latest Rider Levett Bucknall report says that a backlog in construction projects due to the national health crisis will cause a sluggish year for construction in general. The report points out that levels of construction activity (whether high or low) always affect the prices of labour and materials. These elements together will have a bearing on construction inflation. Commercial building inflation hit 5% in 2018 and 2019, but then fell to 4.4% and then 3.8% by the first quar...

Lockdown Hits Construction in Melbourne

In Australia’s second largest city, Melbourne, the streets are nearly empty. This  thriving city of five million people came to a screeching halt when covid-19 hit for a second wave of outbreaks.Last March, a Level 4 Lockdown was imposed in New Zealand. This was effective at stopping the spread of the virus. All non-essential businesses were closed down including construction. The only construction projects allowed were those considered to be necessary to make a structure safe to inhabit....

What if all those unemployed now were to start their own business?

The last time New Zealand experienced such high unemployment numbers was 1987. During that recession, even college graduates could not find good jobs. People were out of work for months and desperate to create some type of income to support themselves. So what did they do? Many of them started their own business. It took two to three years for the NZ economy to recover and for people to begin finding good jobs again. But by this time, a great many of them had successful businesses and were ...

Ongoing Effects of COVID-19 on Construction

Economists have been saying that the New Zealand economy has seemed too good to be true for a while now. But things have changed. With the outbreak of COVID-19, there’s a strong chance that all business sectors, including construction may soon plunge into recession. Some countries such as America are already reporting this. In their fifth month now, many U.S. cities are reporting a second wave of the virus and new cases are reaching all-time highs. Businesses that were trying to reop...

Dealing With A Trusted Insurance Broker During The Recession

Now more than ever it is vital to be able to trust those we work with, particularly those that hold a position of importance in our lives and even more so when it comes to our financial security. You never know when something might go wrong; the last few months have evidenced how fickle the essential parts of life that we depend on can be. Dealing with a trusted insurance broker will bring you the peace of mind you deserve. Unfortunately, however, not everyone can be so fortunate as to rece...

Payment Relief/Adjustment Plan Due to COVID-19New post

We know that the current situation has had a massive impact on most businesses. We are sure that you are experiencing problems getting invoices paid and now the inability to work will be having a massive impact on your cashflow. We hope that you are navigating your way through these issues and have explored the options available for govt assistance and bank/finance company payment holidays.To do our bit to help out we are going to change the way we handle payments as follows:Payments due in Full...

We hope you’re doing ok during this difficult time.

Like most other businesses in this country we are going through an extremely challenging time. This is unfortunately going to be very tough for many businesses in this country. Sadly there are many firms that will collapse leading to many job losses along the way.However, Bonded NZ as a business is well resourced and ready to weather the storm. We have built a strong business with good relationships. The people we deal with are the best in the game and we definitely do not want this carniva...

Migration rates to impact construction activity

The population growth of New Zealand has seen fluctuation in previous years as various factors impact migration. Officials are estimating that the impact of this on the level of population in New Zealand will be making itself more and more present as rates of immigration decline.Changes in the consideration of whether a newcomer to New Zealand is a short-term visitor or a migrant have likely had an impact on the fluctuation of these statistics, according to Statistics NZ. Following these bureauc...

Quick guide to General InsuranceNew post

General insurance is broadly defined as any insurance that is not life insurance. Some definitions include health insurance and some do not. For the purposes of this article, we will concentrate on protection against financial losses and protection for assets and valuables.General insurance is broadly defined as any insurance that is not life insurance. Some definitions include health insurance and some do not. For the purposes of this article, we will concentrate on protection against financial...

Port Hills Fires Hearing: The Importance of Liability Insurance

Many Kiwi businesses are underinsured when it comes to their liability to third parties. But, it could cost them dearly.What is liability insurance?Put simply, liability insurance protects your business from legal action as a result of third-party damage due to the actions of directors, employees or products.The importance of liability insurance for NZ business has been thrown into the spotlight by the Port Hill wildfires, which caused millions of dollars of damage in 2017. Nine weeks have now b...

Robust Construction Activity Expected to Continue in NZ

The National Construction Pipeline Report 2019 has recently been released and provides a forward view of national building and construction activity over the next six years, to the end of 2024.What’s the outlook for construction activity over the next few years?The overall headline is positive, with building volumes forecast to continue to grow at over $40 billion per year. Activity is expected to peak at $43 billion in 2021, with that year expected to see in the region of $26 billion of resid...

Proper financial planning includes having a valid Will

As humans, we naturally look to the future because, as someone once said, “that’s where we’re going to spend the rest of our lives”. The only problem is, none of us knows for sure what will happen in our future or even how long it will be.This is one of the key reasons why it’s so important to have as sound a financial plan as possible to help you deal with whatever your future may hold. It’s the reason why you might, for example, have a regular savings plan, or why you’re making r...

Construction company failures highlight the need for change

For quite some time, the construction industry in New Zealand has suffered high rates of business failure and insolvency, with businesses of all sizes operating across all sectors of the industry being affected.Some high-profile construction business failures this year, with the most recent being that of Ebert Construction going into receivership, leaving employees, subcontractors and people who bought apartments off-the-plan in their developments high and dry, have drawn further attention to th...

Auckland Transport Proposes 30km/h Speed Limit in Auckland CBD

The Auckland CBD has never been a place you want to spend your time driving. The amount of traffic lights on Queen Street alone is very off putting as it can take 10-20 minutes to simply drive the length of the street. That being said, there are a lot of people who need to get in and out of the city centre each day and whether that is by car, foot or public transport, it is important that everyone makes it to where they need to go safely. That is why Auckland Transport (AT) is proposing a 30km/h...

Shortage of engineers puts NZ construction industry at risk

The ever-increasing demand for housing, an economy that continues to perform relatively well, and the many promises of infrastructure spending emanating from the last election are all conspiring together to expose a labour shortage of epic proportions in the New Zealand construction industry.What’s so alarming is that it is estimated that over the next few years, the industry will have to contend with a shortfall of 50,000 construction workers. To make this situation even worse is the fact tha...