Don't Sell Yourself Short On Insurance
Ensure your insurance is fully comprehensive and up to date because as a rural contractor you don’t know what’s around the corner.
New Zealand owned rural insurer FMG has announced an after tax profit of $26.7 million – its sixth consecutive profit.
“This has been another successful year for FMG,” says chief executive Chris Black. “Making a profit and increasing reserves each year supports our growth model and puts us in a strong position to be there for clients when the unexpected happens. Our reserves are currently more than double the minimum required by the Reserve Bank of NZ.”
Black says the result enables the company to keep premium increases to a minimum.
FMG’s pre-tax profit was underpinned by an underwriting result of $7.9m and investment income of about $23m. It increased its share of the overall insurance market to almost 5% and the rural insurance market to 42%.
Blacks says because FMG is mutual, it has a higher sense of accountability in giving back to the rural community.
“We do this in many ways including risk-advice service and sponsorships… graduate programmes and scholarships.
“In 2015 we partnered with the Mental Health Foundation to launch Farmstrong, a non-commercial rural wellness programme based on farmer insights and research to support farmers and growers on ways to ‘live well and farm well’. This initiative is different and timely.”
An Auckland gelato shop and an established New Zealand ice cream maker have both been named Supreme Champions at the NZ Ice Cream & Gelato Awards 2026.
As the cost-of-living crisis continues to put pressure on household grocery budgets, new figures show pork remains one of the most affordable fresh meat options for New Zealand families.
OPINION: In politics, credibility is and should be big. It must surely rank higher than charisma, which is quite trite and superficial. Yet, voters nowadays are often wooed and influenced by how someone looks or talks at a superficial level. TV plays a huge role in this.
Farmers can spend less time on paperwork, thanks to a new data sharing agreement between DairyNZ’s DairyBase and LIC’s MINDA software.
Kaikōura families affected by July's severe storm have found a practical solution to a problem that's kept some children away from regular schooling for weeks: a washed-out section of Inland Kaikōura Road, which has stopped the local school bus from running its usual route.
Rural New Zealand is welcoming the Government’s recent package of rural healthcare initiatives.

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