Security camera captures moment family flee their Twyford home and the Ngaruroro River breaches stop bank after Cyclone Gabrielle. Video / Iain Trotter
Insurance claims after Cyclone Gabrielle have almost reached the $900 million mark.
Provisional general insurance claims data for Cyclone Gabrielle released by the Insurance Council of New Zealand Te Kāhui Inihua o Aotearoa (ICNZ) shows over 40,000 claims have been recorded to date worth around $890 million.
Around $70 million has been paid to date.
“Aotearoa New Zealand’s insurers have so far paid out over $180 million in claims across the Auckland Anniversary Weekend and Cyclone Gabrielle climate events,” said ICNZ chief executive Tim Grafton.
Across the North Island, home and contents claims total 27,800 after Cyclone Gabrielle, worth an initial $453 million.
Tairāwhiti was hit hard by Cyclone Gabrielle. The photo shows the scale of damage on Grant Rd in Gisborne. Photo / Supplied
“The impact of this event on business is also clear with an initial claims value of over $350 million being recorded for related insurance,” Grafton said.
Thousands of vehicles have been damaged and written off with claims reaching over 5000, worth over $73 million.
On a regional basis, Hawke’s Bay has recorded the most claims for Cyclone Gabrielle, with over 13,000 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,” said an ICNZ spokesperson.
Vehicle claims have reached over 5000, worth over $73 million. Photo / Warren Buckland
Even though New Zealand is 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,” Grafton said.
Earlier, Grafton said the number of claims from the two weather events is around twice the number lodged after the 2016 Kaikoura earthquake.
Following Auckland’s January floods, Insurance Council consumer affairs manager Sarah Knox told RNZ it would be years before all claims are settled for flood damaged homes, cars and contents.
Major insurer Suncorp New Zealand said it was averaging one claim per minute after Cyclone Gabrielle’s initial destruction of Auckland and Coromandel areas before making its way down the country.
The full scale of the large slip that came very close to a home on Taurau Valley Rd near Gisborne. Photo / George Heard
The biggest known loss of life was in Hawke’s Bay, where rivers burst their banks and sodden land gave way, sweeping young and old to their deaths.
There was also loss of life to the north, in Tairāwhiti, while two volunteer firefighters paid the ultimate price for their service to the community when a landslide came down on a stricken home in the Auckland beach community of Muriwai.
What a couple saw from the roof of their rental home in Pakowhai before they were rescued during Cyclone Gabrielle. Photo / Dee Southall
