I would exempt start-ups and small employers from the more onerous employment rules and introduce a lower employers' national insurance rate for these small and growing companies.

The upper limit where the national insurance rate drops to 2 per cent will increase from 41,865 to 42,385 next month.

With employers, government and individuals all sharing the responsibility of reform, we continue to have the highest insurance rate in the nation.

However, due to lower insurance rate of coverage, the original insured losses, $310 million, were tripled, rather than doubled.

Throughout his tenure, he consistently rejected insurance rate increases, although these were overturned by appellate courts in 32 of 33 cases.