Photograph captioned by BeckerFraserPhotos, "Rock fall and edge of Sumner RSA".
Cracks along the edge of Raven Quay in Kaiapoi, where the land has slumped towards the river.
Cracks along the edge of Raven Quay in Kaiapoi, where the land has slumped towards the river.
Cracks along the edge of Raven Quay in Kaiapoi, where the land has slumped towards the river.
Cracks along the edge of Raven Quay in Kaiapoi, where the land has slumped towards the river.
A photograph of a damaged house perched on the edge of a cliff in Sumner.
A photograph of a damaged house perched on the edge of a cliff in Sumner.
A photograph of a damaged house perched on the edge of a cliff in Sumner.
A photograph of a damaged house perched on the edge of a cliff in Sumner.
A photograph of a damaged house perched on the edge of a cliff in Sumner.
A photograph of a damaged house perched on the edge of a cliff in Sumner.
Soldiers stationed at the edge of the cordon on the corner of Montreal and Peterborough Streets.
A deck which is now suspended over empty space at the edge of the cliff in Sumner.
The lighthouse at Godley Head, now at the very edge of the cliff due to a landslide.
Photograph captioned by BeckerFraserPhotos, "Clifton Hill".
We examine the role of business interruption (BI) insurance in business recovery following the Christchurch earthquake in 2011. First, we ask whether BI insurance increases the likelihood of business survival in the immediate (3-6 months) aftermath of a disaster. We find positive but statistically insignificant evidence that those firms that had incurred damage, but were covered by BI insurance, had higher likelihood of survival post-quake compared with those firms that did not have any insurance. For the medium-term (2-3 years) survival of firms, our results show a more explicit role for insurance. Firms with BI insurance experience increased productivity and improved performance following a catastrophe. Furthermore, we find that those organisations that receive prompt and full payments of their claims have a better recovery than those that had protracted or inadequate claims payments, but this difference between the two groups is not statistically significant. We find no statistically significant evidence that the latter group (inadequate payment) did any better than those organisations that had damage but no insurance coverage. In general, our analysis indicates the importance not only of adequate insurance coverage, but also of an insurance system that delivers prompt claim payments. This is a post-peer-review, pre-copyedit version of an article published in 'The Geneva Papers on Risk and Insurance - Issues and Practice'. The final authenticated version is available online at: https://doi.org/10.1057/s41288-017-0067-y. The following terms of use apply: https://www.springer.com/gp/open-access/publication-policies/aam-terms-of-use.
A photograph of a house on the edge of a cliff. The photograph is captioned by Paul Corliss, "Sumner".
Photograph captioned by BeckerFraserPhotos, "Looking towards Cathedral Square from the edge of the red zone".
A house close to the edge of a cliff in Clifton. Much of the house's brick work has fallen away.
A photograph of a house on the edge of a cliff. The photograph is captioned by Paul Corliss, "Sumner".
A long line of cars on Shirley Road. While the centre of the road is clear, there is flooding and liquefaction along the edges.
A photograph of a house on the edge of a cliff. The photograph is captioned by Paul Corliss, "Sumner".
Houses perched on the edge of the cliff above Peacock's Gallop. Below, a line of shipping containers are protecting the road from further rockfall.
A photograph of a property on the edge of a collapsed cliff face. The photograph is captioned by Paul Corliss, "Redcliffs".
A photograph of a property on the edge of a collapsed cliff face. The photograph is captioned by Paul Corliss, "Redcliffs".
A photograph of a property on the edge of a collapsed cliff face. The photograph is captioned by Paul Corliss, "Redcliffs".
A photograph of a house on the edge of a collapsed cliff face. The photograph is captioned by Paul Corliss, "Redcliffs and Sumner".
A photograph of a property on the edge of a collapsed cliff face. The photograph is captioned by Paul Corliss, "Redcliffs".
Part of a house, now dangerously close to the cliff edge due to rock fall during the 22 February 2011 earthquake.
Debris from a fallen house lying among rocks at the base of the cliff above Peacock's Gallop. Above, other houses teeter on the cliff edge.