2014 Insured Cost of Weather Now Over $135 Million

New reports have taken the insured cost of weather-related damage this year to over $135.4 million, the Insurance Council of New Zealand announced today.

“This year is heading to be one of the most expensive years for insured losses as the final cost of the big Easter storm that hit the West Coast has risen to $55.3 million, up from the initial estimate of $45 million, and the provisional cost for the storm that lashed Northland, Auckland and the Coromandel in early July is $15.1 million,” ICNZ Chief Executive Tim Grafton said.

The Easter storm was the biggest event this year with about 10,000 claims and over $32 million in damage to homes, contents and motor vehicles.

“Homeowners also bore the brunt of the July storm with about $8 million of damage to homes and content, which highlights the importance of New Zealand’s generally high levels of insurance uptake to ensure a quick economic recovery at times like these,” he said.

Last year, insured losses from weather events was $175 million, the second most expensive year since 1968, the year of the Wahine disaster.
2014 Insured Cost of Weather-Related Damage

	Weather Event	Date	$ Million
2014	Severe Weather - Northland-Auckland-Coromandel	8-11 July	15.1	Provisional
2014	Nelson-Tasman District Wind and Floods	25-Jun	4.3	Provisional
2014	Severe Weather North and South Islands	9-11 June	29.8	Provisional
2014	Easter Weekend Storm and Floods	17-Apr	55.3
2014	Cyclone Lusi	15-16 Mar	3.6
2014	Canterbury storm	23-Feb	4.8
2014	Canterbury and Lower North Island storm	4-5 Mar	22.5
			135.4