After NIWA this month recorded New Zealand's wettest winter on record, the Insurance Council of New Zealand (ICNZ) released data today revealing $43.7 million-worth of claims were made after extreme weather events in July alone.
"Extreme weather continues to hit Aotearoa New Zealand’s communities hard", said ICNZ chief executive, Tim Grafton.
"We must act now to increase resilience and so lessen the impact of climate change on our way of life. This is not just about those things typically covered by general insurance such as our homes, vehicles and businesses. We also need to protect our infrastructure, environment and general way of life which is all too easily disrupted by climate-driven extreme weather events."
Extreme weather over July resulted in 6,266 general insurance claims with a provisional value of $43.7 million, he said.
Three extreme weather events were declared by the general insurance sector in July:
11 - 13 July: New Zealand-wide 2,570 claims $15.4 million.
17 - 21 July: South Island 1,694 claims $16.1 million.
24 - 27 July: New Zealand wide 2,002 claims $12.2 million.
In addition, final claims data for the tornado that ripped through Levin on May 20 was also published today. Preliminary figures of 807 claims valued at $8.1 million were finalised at 930 claims worth $11 million.
And while data for August hasn't been totalled, insurance claims to date this year are already at $245 million compared to $324 million for all of 2021 which in itself sets a new record.
Heavy rain hit many parts of the country in August, including West Auckland and Nelson.
ICNZ says provisional data is available around four weeks after an event, after policy holders have lodged claims and initial assessments have been made.
Far North Councillor counts the cost
Northland and many parts of the South Island were hit with floods in July. Swathes of a Northland dairy farm were left underwater after unrelenting downpours and storms damaged roads.
"I personally went to a number of houses after the Awanui River topped its banks affecting nearby properties," Far North Councillor Felicity Foy told 1News today.
"Now the Mangamuka Gorge is closed indefinitely after recent flooding and we don't know when it will be open again," she said, adding that with summer on its way, tourism will be affected by compromised road networks.
"Mobil Kaitaia is losing $40,000 a month because people are not driving through that way anymore and Mangonui Haulage is losing about $80,000 a month - their costs will be increasing," Foy said.
"It's extra fuel, extra road user charges and extra time really adds more time on to a guy's day so they're not as productive," company spokesperson Sean Sparkman told 1News last month.
And it wasn't just the Far North hammered by storms. The South Island was also hit as flooding forced the closure of State Highway 1 to Blenheim and Picton at Seddon in Marlborough in late July.
People in Otago were urged to stay away from rapidly rising rivers and streams and Christchurch officially set a new July rainfall record with 228mm of rainfall, beating the previous wettest July which saw 180.8mm of rainfall in 1977.
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