WCC costs ratepayers $10 million in blunder

Stuff reports:

Wellington ratepayers are more than $10 million out of pocket after a council insurance stuff-up.

Wellington City Council has footed a bill of about $9.7m after a failed insurance claim for a delayed leaky building liability, and the council now expects it will pay more than $1m in additional costs. …

Proceedings started in September 2011, but the council did not bring the claim to Riskpool’s attention until August 2013.

The High Court agreed with the insurer, that the council had notified it of the claim too late.

So ratepayers are $10 million worse off due to this blunder. If this was the private sector, I’m pretty sure staff who cost the owners of a company $10 million would be looking for another job. But I suspect WCC hasn’t even used a wet bus ticket against those responsible – after all it is our money, not theirs.