New Zealand insurance brokers have gained a first-hand perspective on the impacts of the Christchurch earthquakes during a two-day forum in Christchurch.

“The Challenge” forum was organised by the Insurance Brokers Association of New Zealand (IBANZ), as a “one-off” replacement for the annual conference. It attracted 260 delegates.

IBANZ CEO Gary Young says the event brought professionals face-to-face with the enormous challenges being faced by the insurance industry in Christchurch. The formal program was planned so that delegates could fly into Christchurch in the morning and leave the same evening.

“Keynote speakers and workshops gave us excellent perspectives on the technical and human problems associated with the earthquake recovery program,” he told insuranceNEWS.com.au. “But what brought it home the scale and complexity of the disaster most clearly was a bus tour the following day through the affected areas.”

The tour was conducted with Vero managers as guides, and took in devastated suburbs and the city centre.

“You can have no real idea of the scale of the damage until you’ve seen it up close,” Mr Young said. “In the east of the city there are big areas that are just empty sections [blocks of land] and fallen-over houses.”

He says demolition work in the CBD has seen some 1200 buildings demolished with about 400 more yet to be removed.

“As a result of this forum brokers have a much greater understanding of earthquake risks and what they need to know to serve their clients.”