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Ministry of Education New Zealand

About the risk management scheme

Our risk management scheme is non-profit and offers comprehensive contents, liability and cyber insurance for your school. This includes public liability cover.

School boards can choose to join this scheme or insure with a private insurance company.

All school assets, other than land and buildings owned by the Crown, must be insured. Overcode buildings, or buildings fully or partly owned by the board, are not covered by the scheme. These need to be privately insured by your school.

Our guide summarises the risk management scheme.

pdf thumbnailMinistry of Education risk management scheme
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Apply to join the scheme

Your school can join the scheme at any time. There is no annual renewal process. Once your school is a member, you will stay in the scheme until you decide to withdraw.

Fill out the application form and send it to us using the address on the form.

pdf thumbnailRisk management scheme application form
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Your school will be insured from the date they choose on the form.

New schools

New schools are automatically made members of the scheme.

  • No levies are charged during a new school’s establishment phase.
  • Levies begin once the school is open and operational.
  • Your board can opt out of our scheme and secure alternative cover once the school is open.

After joining the scheme

Once your school’s application to join the scheme is approved, you will need to cancel your existing insurance policy unless you have arranged the start of your cover to match the end of any existing cover.

We recommend you review your insurance regularly to make sure your school’s needs are still covered. If your needs change, contact our insurance broker to discuss your options (details below).

How the scheme works

The companies the scheme uses are:

  • McLarens New Zealand as the loss assessors.
  • IAG New Zealand Limited to provide the liability and cyber insurance cover.
  • Marsh as the insurance broker.

Lumley General Insurance and NZI are business divisions of IAG New Zealand Limited and may appear on communications.

Keepsafe: Risk management programme – Lumley Insurance

What it costs

The scheme’s insurance levy is $15.00 per student per year. Your levy is deducted quarterly from your school’s operational funding entitlement before you receive the funding. This keeps the administration to a minimum.

Your operational funding entitlement notice tells you how much the levy is. Details are shown under the heading ‘risk management’.

How to make a claim

Contents claim

You can make a contents claim through McLarens.

Online claim form – McLarens

Freephone (New Zealand only): 0800 800 425

If there is a liability issue, schools should first contact Te Whakarōputanga Kaitiaki Kura o Aotearoa | New Zealand School Boards Association. They give initial advice about how to handle staff matters.

To make a liability claim, call Lumley General Insurance.

Phone: 0800 293 031 (option 4)

Cyber claim

In the event your school suffers a cyber breach contact Sedgwick:

0800 293 031 (option 6)

Direct: 0800 694 292

Sedgwick are NZI's dedicated breach coach and will help you resolve the situation.

How to withdraw from the scheme

You can cancel your membership at any time. Fill out the withdrawal form and send it to us.

docx thumbnailRisk management scheme withdrawal form
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Make sure you include evidence that your school has alternative insurance cover. For example, a copy of the policy or a letter from your new insurance company confirming cover.

When your withdrawal is approved, you will receive a refund of the per student deduction for the part of the year for which cover has been paid for through the operational funding deduction. We will send you a letter that tells you what refund you will get.

Mōhiohio anōMore information

To get more information on the scheme, contact Marsh. They will give advice and quotes for services that are not covered by the scheme and can arrange insurance for you.

Freephone (NZ only): 0800 293 031 (option 2)

Email: [email protected]

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