Many of you will be aware that there is currently no recognised meth contamination standard in NZ.

The only current guidelines available for remediating meth contaminated property are the Ministry of Health’s (MoH) Guidelines for the Remediation of Clandestine Methamphetamine Laboratory Sites, published in August 2010. Many insurers use these as a de-facto standard for decontaminating homes from both meth labs and meth use. These guidelines were only designed for properties where meth had been manufactured, but in the absence of an alternative, they’ve been used for all meth claims.

These guidelines recommend a remediation level of residual contamination after a meth lab (where there is reliable evidence to establish meth has been manufactured) of no more than 0.5 micrograms of methamphetamine per 100 centimetres squared (0.5μg/100cm²).

This is a very small amount – anecdotally, this is the equivalent of taking 1 grain of table salt, cutting it into 1,000 smaller pieces and taking out one of those cut pieces.

In the absence of a formal standard, Standards NZ was asked by MoH to produce an appropriate standard. As part of developing this, the Institute of Environment Science and Research (ESR) was commissioned to recommend the appropriate levels for meth clean-up. These were developed by reviewing health-based studies and take a very conservative approach.

In October 2016, they recommend the following three-tier levels:

This was accepted by the MoH and they publicly advised in late October 2016 that these proposed three levels can be used as a guide until official new standards are developed by Standards New Zealand later this year. The new standards, once developed, will supersede the existing MoH guidelines. 

As a result, we will be aligning ourselves with this recommendation and adopting a meth contamination level of 0.50 for meth labs and 1.50 for all other sources of contamination, effective for all claims notified from 21 February 2017.

(Note that we are adopting a straight 1.5 level for any non-lab houses regardless of carpets).

We will continue to use the previous 0.50 standard for any claims already lodged before 21 February 2017 so any claims already underway will not be affected by this change.

Should these change later this year with the release of Standards NZ’s formal standards, we will be in touch again to keep you updated.

As a prudent landlord we’re recommending customers do a meth test at the beginning and end of a tenancy and when changing insurers. While it’s not a requirement of the policy, landlords will be required to establish when contamination has occurred should a claim be made, and regular testing will help provide this. 

And naturally, we’ll being asking customers to do a comprehensive test if they make a meth contamination claim - the cost of which is covered under their claim if the results are above the current guidelines.

To help with this we’re putting together a panel of IAG preferred suppliers for meth testing. This is an involved process as each supplier needs to be thoroughly evaluated. Once the panel is confirmed it will be available on our website.

While this is being finalised we can provide details for some recommended testing suppliers we currently have good working relationships with and would be confident referring customers to at this stage:

For Customers
We understand that meth cover is a complex issue. To help your clients, particularly those who are landlords with rental properties, we’ve put together a ‘Your guide to methamphetamine contamination’ booklet.

It covers off general information about meth, and details the obligations landlords must take to protect their property. It’s really important your landlord clients are made aware of their revised obligations, as they are a policy requirement and are the best line of defence against having meth contamination within their property.

Please pass it on to any customers who might benefit from having a read (to pass it on  just copy the link and add it into your email).

For Brokers
To support you in your role as a trusted advisor to your clients, we’ve also put together a Broker Meth FAQ booklet addressing a number of questions we’ve had from the market and providing more detail on our cover.

Please have a read – there is a lot of information covered off that will hopefully address any questions you have about this change.

If you have any questions about NZI’s position on meth, please talk with your Personal Lines Account Manager or local domestic Business Development Manager.

We’re currently working through what, if any, changes need to be made to our Commercial Motor and Commercial Property policies in regards to meth contamination.

For Commercial Property the initial change will be an endorsement for our current body corporate policy wording to clarify the scope of coverage and the applicable sub-limits for contamination coverage. The coverage will be similar to that offered to our Home customers, but it may reflect differences in insuring a commercial, and opposed to insuring a residential, property risk.

Changes to our other Commercial Property policies will be reviewed and made in conjunction with our regular policy wording reviews. An interim meth contamination endorsement is not currently being considered.

Further updates will be provided to you for both body corps and other commercial policies as these are finalised and prior to amending our current terms and conditions.