A new report from three NZ insurers revealed that the recent stormy summer for Aotearoa yielded a 402% increase in insurance claims. From the period of September 1, 2022, to February 28, 2023, the AMI, State, and NZI Insurance, all part of IAG, recorded 41,596 insurance claims, compared to 8,293 from last year.
Of the more than 41,000 claims, 23,497 were for the North Island floods, while 14,396 were for Cyclone Gabrielle. However, it’s a figure that’s still expected to rise; as of May 2, AMI, State, and NZI customers have lodged a total of 25,000 claims for the North Island floods while Gabrielle recorded 21,000.
The insurers’ Wild Weather Tracker report supports the earlier findings from the Insurance Council of New Zealand (ICNZ) that 2022 has been a record year for weather-related claims. As both the North Island floods and Cyclone Gabrielle happened this year, it’s expected that this record will be broken quite easily when the full extent of the damage becomes clearer.
AMI, State, and NZI CEO Amanda Whiting (pictured) said that the two weather events earlier this year generated more claims than what was received for the whole country in the previous two and a half years. Their effects were so profound that a nationwide survey that ran with the Wild Weather Tracker Report found that Kiwis’ level of concern about weather events is at a record high, from 45% before the storms to 83% after.
The survey also found that despite weather warnings, only 64% of upper North Island residents and 35% of those in lower North Island prepared for the storms. Most of them reasoned that they didn’t think they’d be affected, or that the events weren’t in their area.
“What we saw this summer was a stark reminder that storms are traumatising events that put people’s lives at risk,” Whiting said. “However, the survey gave a sense that people felt they wouldn’t personally be impacted, which – as we can see from the claims numbers – is simply not true. These events are not only becoming more frequent, but they are also impacting more people, some repeatedly, and the level of property damage is significant. Clearly, our climate is changing, and our future weather patterns will be different to what we have seen in the past.”
Last August, the insurers presented a three-step plan to the government calling for urgent action to keep people safe from the devastating impact of a changing climate.
“We want to keep insurance available and affordable for all. But ultimately, we need to reduce the risk and impact of flooding. We are actively working with government and other key stakeholders, and we are ready to play our part,” Whiting said.
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