Insurers point to a dramatic fall in mishaps

By RICHARD BRADDELL

WELLINGTON - Workplace deaths halved and accidents and claims were down 40 per cent in the first five months of the privatised market, according to the Insurance Council.

In a submission to the parliamentary select committee on the reinstatement of the state monopoly, the council said the bill had the ability to define life or death for some workers in New Zealand.

The submission was based on data provided by insurers to the Department of Labour regulator. It is supported by the experience of the state-owned competitor in the private market, @Work, which this week said it had experienced claim rates which were half those budgeted.

Although the Insurance Council was unable to confirm the accuracy of all the data provided by the regulator, it said that it was convinced the fatality figures were correct, since it had confirmed them with the insurers. It had also added in three more deaths in December, which had not been included by the regulator.

On an annual basis, the council said there would have been 32 deaths, compared with 65 in the last year that ACC was in the market.

It admitted the true fatality rate could be marginally higher, since death could occur some time after an injury.

The council said the 40 per cent accident reduction equalled 100,000 fewer accidents, time off work was down 40 per cent, and disputes leading to reviews were down from 205 under ACC, to 28 under the private market.

"The disputes figures, if they are true, are remarkable, but I wonder what lies behind them," Green committee member, Sue Bradford, said.

In response to her query as to whether there was evidence the employers were encouraging workers to claim accident as non-work, the council responded that the ACC earners account was showing no evidence of cost-shifting.

The council also said that preemployment testing was pointless since it would not determine who would have accidents, while injury definitions were determined by law, and could not be changed.