Nearly 1500 insurance claims have been made so far, after devastating flooding hit the region last week.
IAG executive general manager claims, Wayne Tippet, says as at 8am Friday morning they had received 1,151 home, 150 contents, 67 vehicle, 99 business insurance and one boat claim, totalling 1,478 claims resulting from damage caused by the heavy rain, flooding and landslips.
Wayne and AMI, State and NZI chief executive Amanda Whiting are visiting Nelson today to join their on-the-ground team who have been looking after customers and to accompany assessors who are continuing to inspect some of the most impacted properties.
Wayne says while Nelson, Tasman and Marlborough regions have been the worst affected, they hace also received claims from across the country.
The spread of claims from this recent wild weather event is:
Nelson: 634
Tasman: 163
Marlborough: 133
Auckland: 162
Wellington: 143
Northland: 65
Taranaki: 46
Wayne says the team remain available for customers in Nelson at the Incident Information Centre located at the former Nelson i-SITE Visitor Information Centre, 77 Trafalgar Street, Nelson.
“As New Zealand’s largest general insurer, with a relationship with one in two households, we’re here to help our AMI, State, NZI, NAC, Lumley, Lantern, ASB, BNZ, Westpac and the Co-operative Bank customers with their claims, as well as offer general insurance support.”
He says they are currently prioritising customers whose homes are unliveable, or those who are in more vulnerable circumstances.
“We have extra support on board and are committed to helping our customers as quickly as possible. It’s important to acknowledge that with such a high volume of claims, it can take time for assessors to inspect all damaged properties.
“Our local assessors have been on the ground for a week now and are continuing to make contact with our most impacted customers to review the extent of the damage. Their observations have been that there are distinct areas in the region that have been impacted by either flood or landslip damage, and there is still concern about the red stickered properties that aren’t yet safe to access.”
He says there is also a risk of further damage being caused in a number of areas if there is additional severe rainfall.
“We are still expecting further claims as customers are able to safely assess the damage to their homes, businesses, and property. A number of customers are still not able to access their red stickered homes and are not yet sure of the extent of damage.”
Much of the damage reported and assessed so far has been from water, mud and debris entering properties with reports of flood damaged vehicles also.
