Vero, New Zealand’s second largest insurer, says it won’t cover policyholders for personal injury or damage to property directly or indirectly caused by genetically modified (GM) products. It has introduced an exclusion to its farmers’ liability policy for existing and new policyholders effective from tomorrow. 

The decision comes as the NZ Government is tipped to give the thumbs-up to field trials involving the country’s GM agricultural produce. Environment Minister Marian Hobbs says Vero’s decision isn’t surprising and “reflects the relative newness of technology in NZ”.

“Insurance is based on past history,” she said. “There is no past history in NZ and limited information elsewhere in the world for GM products. It is not unusual for the insurance industry to be conservative in offering insurance cover on an innovation where they have no information about what sort of financial exposure they might have.” 

Ms Hobbs says despite insurers being wary of offering cover for GM products, a farmer that causes injury or damage to another person or property can still be held liable for the damage regardless of whether they’re insured or not.