Homes risked for a few dollars a week

Under-insurance has reached "almost crisis proportions," with one person in seven lacking the cover to rebuild their lives after a disaster.

An Insurance Council survey found 15 per cent of properties were either under-insured, or not insured at all, the chief executive, Chris Ryan, said yesterday.

People were risking their property for the sake of a few dollars a week and in doing so were adding to the clean-up burden for local authorities and the Government.

Only seven of 42 properties damaged by flooding in the King Country town of Ohura last year were insured, he said.

"It's reached almost crisis proportions. The wider infrastructure of New Zealand is at risk because of low insurance levels.

"We know times are tough, we know you are living on a low income and you've got priorities for your children, but put aside $2 a week and insure your home."

It was possible as few as one property in 20 in the Hokianga Harbour area was insured, the Far North District Mayor, Yvonne Sharp, said yesterday.

She said people in rural areas often had to weigh up whether they put food on the table or pay insurance.

"We are talking about rural pockets where there is no employment ... and people are struggling to exist."