Appendix 1: Information we sought from our auditors about insurance

Insuring public assets.

To gather information on insurance of assets by public entities, we prepared a questionnaire for our auditors to complete for many public entities with more than $100,000 of assets. The questionnaire was set out as follows:

1. Name of entity

2. The carrying value of assets as at the 2012 balance date

3. Do all types of assets have some level of insurance cover?

4. Select the types of assets that have no insurance cover:

Check box. Land (including parks and reserves)
Check box. Landfill
Check box. Buildings
Check box. Transport infrastructure (including road, rail, ports, and airports)
Check box. Stormwater and flood protection systems
Check box. Water supply systems
Check box. Wastewater and sewerage systems
Check box. Electricity generation and distribution systems
Check box. IT and other specialist equipment
Check box. Cultural and heritage collections
Check box. Specialist defence assets
Check box. Motor vehicles
Check box. Other

5. Why does the entity have no insurance cover for these types of assets?

Check box. The entity has tried but is unable to get insurance
Check box. The cost of insurance exceeds the entity's assessed risk
Check box. The entity has the capacity to borrow to fund any loss or damage
Check box. The entity has sufficient available funds to repair or replace those assets
Check box. The Government has agreed to fund any loss or damage to those assets
Check box. Other

We asked the following questions for up to three of the main insurance policies:

6. Name of insurer

7. Period of the insurance policy

8. Select the types of assets covered by this insurance policy:

Check box. Land (including parks and reserves)
Check box. Landfill
Check box. Buildings
Check box. Transport infrastructure (including road, rail, ports, and airports)
Check box. Stormwater and flood protection systems
Check box. Water supply systems
Check box. Wastewater and sewerage systems
Check box. Electricity generation and distribution systems
Check box. IT and other specialist equipment
Check box. Cultural and heritage collections
Check box. Specialist defence assets
Check box. Motor vehicles
Check box. Other

9. Sum insured value of assets

10. Amount of insurance premium

11. Amount of excess

12. Carrying value of the assets covered by the insurance policy as at the 2012 balance date.

13. If the 2012 sum insured value of these assets is less than the 2012 carrying value, how is the uninsured risk being managed?

Check box. The entity has the capacity to borrow funds to manage the risk
Check box. The entity has sufficient investments it could realise to manage the risk
Check box. The Government has agreed to provide funding to cover the risk
Check box. Other
Check box. Not applicable: the 2012 sum insured value is greater than the 2012 carrying value

14. When comparing insurance information from the 2012 financial year to the 2011 financial year, which of the following apply?

Check box. There was a significant increase in insurance premium by ………%
Check box. There was a significant increase in insurance excess by ……..%
Check box. There were broad policy exclusions in the 2012 insurance policy that were not in the 2011 policy. These were ………..
Check box. None of these apply

15. Which of the following does the entity expect to affect its insurance of these assets during the 2013 financial year?

Check box. The entity does not expect any significant changes
Check box. The entity expects to self-insure against the loss or damage of these assets
Check box. The entity expects a significant increase in insurance premium
Check box. The entity expects a significant increase in insurance excess
Check box. The entity expects more policy exclusions to be added to the insurance policy
Check box. None of these apply

16. Are there any features of the entity's insurance arrangements that could make it suitable for a case study?

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