Dunedin flooding: Will residents be able to get insurance in the future?

By RNZ

A Dunedin resident fears insurance for his flood-prone home will become harder to get as more severe downpours hit the city over time.

About a dozen Dunedin houses have been red-stickered since last week’s storms.

Flood-affected resident Brendon Hollander said he has a feeling that insurance will become more expensive from the impacts of more flooding.

“One of the very first things they said to us over the phone was that our no claims bonus will automatically be halved. It’s not been said to us, although we have slowly but surely noticed a steady increase in the cost of house and contents insurance and that sort of stuff. I guess you’d have to be a fool to think that it wouldn’t be that it wouldn’t increase,” Hollander said.

He said he knew about the flood risks when he bought the property, but believed it would be safe with the right infrastructure.

It comes more than a year after the Government introduced its land categorisation plan to Hawke’s Bay where those living in flood-prone areas under category three were considered “high risk” and unsafe to rebuild on.

The Insurance Council said in June last year that under all categories, everyone would be entitled to get their insurance after Cyclone Gabrielle.

But then-chief executive Tim Grafton said moving forward it would be highly unlikely for those living in category three to be eligible for insurance for residential homes.

Meanwhile, another South Dunedin resident said the city council needed to work on improvements to the area’s drains and other infrastructure to handle severe weather.

Stratuss Svensson’s rental on Bradshaw St was yellowed-stickered after floodwaters rose underneath the house and drenched the floor.

He said this level of damage should not be happening.

“In my eyes the council should be doing something to stop this from happening, because I believe it’s not the first time it’s happened in South Dunedin and I believe it happens quite a lot in this low-lying area.

“So I think the council should really look into spending some money and getting that sorted and getting the infrastructure to handle big situations like this.”

Earlier this year the Government rejected a plan to offer $130 million to help buy out low-lying flood-prone South Dunedin properties as part of its climate adaptation plan.

But councillor Jim O’Malley said it was worth revisiting.

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