IAG, New Zealand’s biggest general insurer, says more people than ever are thinking about climate risks when buying and renting homes as climate concern around properties rises.
This is according to new findings from IAG's latest biannual Wild Weather Tracker, which reports on the weather-related claims the insurer has received every six months.
IAG operates the AMI, State, NZI, NAC, Lumley and Lantern brands and also provides general insurance offered through ASB, BNZ, Westpac and The Co-operative Bank.
In the latest tracker report and survey IAG said it had found over 53% of home buyers and renters now consider climate risks as their second most important consideration when it comes to looking at property after price.
Additionally, whereas only 55% of respondents would have considered weather risks two years ago when looking to buy or rent a property, IAG’s survey found that percentage has now risen to 86%.
IAG chief executive Amanda Whiting said climate concern and natural hazard risk was currently “well and truly front of mind” for New Zealanders.
“Issues like flooding are now impacting people’s behaviour around where to buy and rent. People have seen the devastation wrought by storms like Cyclone Gabrielle and are much more aware of the risks,” she said.
Even though much of New Zealand enjoyed a relatively calm summer, IAG said it had still received 6,712 weather-related claims between the beginning of September 2023 and the end of February 2024.
This is 84% fewer weather-related claims than the same time last year when the insurer received 41,596 claims from the Auckland floods and Cyclone Gabrielle. IAG has reported since then that it paid out more than $1 billion in claims from those events.
During the six months to the end of February 2024, Canterbury bore the brunt as the most weather-affected area and made up 37% of the claims that IAG received during that period. IAG said the claims were predominantly from storms and strong winds.
After Christchurch, Wellington accounted for 19% of claims, Auckland 9% and Otago 6%.
IAG said the majority of the 6,712 weather-related claims it received during the September to February period were from house policies.
The insurer reported 4,192 house claims, 603 car claims, 969 contents claims, 920 commercial claims and 28 claims under the ‘other’ category.
Whiting said New Zealand was facing “growing risk” as weather became more unpredictable alongside other natural hazards.
“This means claims are becoming more frequent and costly, compounded by inflation, which has led to premium increases. However, we don’t expect to see the same level of increases year on year,” she said.
IAG’s survey found 79% of respondents wanted councils to provide more information on weather and natural hazard risks for properties, followed by real estate agents at 57%, the government at 52% and insurers at 41%.
Additionally, 90% expressed a strong desire for increased public availability of information regarding hazard risks.
“This is why it’s important we continue to work closely with councils, the government, and other partners to ensure insurance remains accessible for New Zealanders,” Whiting said.
“Our focus must be on keeping people out of harm’s way, so we do not see a repeat of what happened during the summer of 2023.”
In its last wild weather report released in November 2023, Whiting had urged the then incoming government to prioritise natural hazard risk in order to keep insurance affordable.
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