Provisional Cyclone Gabrielle Claims Reach $890m

Provisional general insurance claims data for Cyclone Gabrielle have been released by the Insurance Council of New Zealand Te Kāhui Inihua o Aotearoa (ICNZ).

Over 40,000 claims have been recorded to date worth around $890 million for Cyclone Gabrielle of which around $70m has been paid.

"Aotearoa New Zealand’s insurers have so far paid out over $180m in claims across the Auckland Anniversary Weekend and Cyclone Gabrielle climate events," said ICNZ Chief Executive Tim Grafton.

Across the motu for Cyclone Gabrielle, home and contents claims total 27,800 worth an initial $453m. The impact of this event on business is also clear with an initial claims value of over $350m being recorded for related insurance. Thousands of vehicles have been damaged and written off with claims reaching over 5,000 worth over $73m.

On a regional basis for Cyclone Gabrielle most claims, over 13,000, have been recorded in Hawke’s Bay across all general insurance types. While this is around a third of all claims, such is the extent of the damage there the region accounts for more than half of the total value of claims to date for the Cyclone at over $481 million.

"Once again, the community response to this second climate-related disaster to hit Aoteraoa this year has been incredible’" said Tim.

Even though we are now in the recovery phase, some communities continue to face acute issues around silt, housing and access.

"Insurers are doing all that they can to get assessments completed and to agree next steps with customers. In the meantime, insurers have been working hard to activate temporary accommodation benefits for homeowners and renters alike," added Tim.

ICNZ data collection process

1. Once an event has concluded, ICNZ issues a notice to its members to record data for it.

2. Provisional data are typically available around four weeks after the event after policy holders have lodged claims and initial assessments have been made.

3. Final numbers are reported after around three months once the cost of claims is known.

4. For the Auckland Anniversary Weekend floods and Cyclone Gabrielle, additional reporting will be made, including on claims resolution until at least the one-year anniversary of these events.

5. While ICNZ members manage EQCover claims on behalf of customers, the cost of claims met by Toka Tū Ake EQC is not included in ICNZ data.

WEATHER-RELATED LOSSES - Provisional figures

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