According to the Insurance Council of New Zealand Te Khui Inihua o Aotearoa, Cyclone Gabrielle, which affected areas of New Zealand last month, has so far resulted in about 40,000 claims worth a total of $890 million (ICNZ).
According to ICNZ’s preliminary general insurance claims figures for Gabrielle, insurers had already paid out around $70 million in claims.
‘’According to Tim Grafton, CEO of ICNZ, “Aotearoa New Zealand’s insurers have so far paid out over $180 million in claims spanning the Auckland Anniversary Weekend and Cyclone Gabrielle climatic events.”
The overall number of home and contents claims is 27,800, with an initial cost of $453 million. The impact of this incident on business is also obvious, as related insurance claims with an initial cost of over $350 million have been documented.
The ICNZ further reports that over 5,000 claims totaling over $73 million had been made for damages to and write-offs of thousands of vehicles.
With 13,000 claims across all general insurance kinds, the Hawke’s Bay region had the largest claims regionally for Cyclone Gabrielle.
Even though this accounts for only about a third of all claims, the severity of the injury means that it also accounts for more than half of Gabrielle’s total claim value to date, which is over $481 million.
Once more, the community’s response to the second calamity linked to climate change to strike Aoteraoa this year has been amazing, according to Grafton.
Despite the fact that recovery efforts have taken over from response efforts, the ICNZ also points out that some affected communities are still dealing with serious problems related to silt, housing, and access.
‘’Grafton continued, “Insurers are doing everything they can to complete assessments and agree on future actions with customers. Insurance companies have been working hard to activate temporary housing benefits for both homeowners and renters in the interim.
