The Reserve Bank of New Zealand (RBNZ) says insurers may be issued “public warnings” if they fail to comply with a new data collection regime.

The bank has established regular collection from licensed insurers to aid its role as industry regulator, and says most insurers have started reporting using its insurer return and quarterly insurer survey.

High-level feedback has been provided, and insurers have generally been responsive, the RBNZ says.

However, some have a particularly high error rate and are taking “several weeks or longer” to respond to feedback.

“Inaccurate data that is not corrected in a timely fashion has implications for our supervision, and will also affect users of any published data,” the bank said.

“We are considering steps to encourage insurers to take more care in providing data that is both accurate and timely – for example, we might issue public warnings to the worst insurers, or… add a requirement for an auditor review of the Insurer Return at financial year end.

“We also remind insurers that failure to comply with any requirements of the bank under Section 121 is an offence, with insurers liable to potential fines.”

The Insurance Council of New Zealand says it cannot offer a detailed response without more information from the RBNZ.

“This is the beginning of the new data reporting regime and these issues reflect the bedding-in problems that occur when developing complex new requirements,” CEO Tim Grafton told insuranceNEWS.com.au.