Puketapu locals clear out their homes after Cyclone Gabrielle. Photo / Mark Mitchell
AA Insurance says it is expecting an explosion in claims associated with Cyclone Gabrielle in the coming days as power and services begin to return across the North Island.
Suncorp, the part owner of AA Insurance, said it has brought in two teams of 100 specialists to help process claims.
Company general operations manager Simon Hobbs said they want to remind Kiwis there is no rush to make a claim if they are unable to reach the insurer.
“As soon as they are able to get in touch, our teams will be ready to help with emergency repairs, temporary accommodation and advice for getting the claims lodgement process started.”
“We continue to work closely with our teams on the ground to understand where and how we can best target additional support over the coming days and weeks,” Hobbs said.
AA Insurance said claims for Cyclone Gabrielle and the Auckland Anniversary floods were projected to result in the largest weather event in the company’s history.
There have so far been 8500 claims for the two: 6600 of those were from the Auckland Anniversary floods.
An Insurance Council of New Zealand spokesperson says there were 40,000 insurance claims for the Auckland Anniversary floods, and currently a few thousand for Cyclone Gabrielle.
“However, it is early days and we expect there to be many many more.”
AA says it will have a presence at the Civil Defence hubs on Sunday February 19 and Monday February 20 to help customers and community members with queries and to connect them with claims support.
Armed police stood guard as the patched members were led out in handcuffs.