Flooding in Stokes Valley in the Wellington region last weekend. Photo / Stokes Valley Volunteer Fire Brigade
Flooding in Stokes Valley in the Wellington region last weekend. Photo / Stokes Valley Volunteer Fire Brigade
Weather-related claims skyrocketed in the past 12 months, highlighting the volatile nature of New Zealand’s weather, an expert says.
New Zealand’s largest insurer says weather-related claims rose 256% after the country was battered by 46 storms.
New data from IAG New Zealand’s Wild Weather Tracker revealed its insurance brandsreceived 33,174 claims from 46 storms between March 2025 and February 2026.
This was up from 9324 claims over 29 storms in the previous 12-month period.
Storm-related claims covered home, contents, motor, commercial and boat policies across IAG New Zealand’s insurance companies, which include AMI, State and NZI.
Phil Gibson, chief executive of AMI, State and NZI, said storms are arriving more often and with greater intensity.
“Over a 15-year timeline, a storm typically affected parts of the country once every 19 days.
A ute crashed into where the land had given way at a bridge on State Highway 39 just south of Mangati Rd, near Puketotara, Ōtorohanga. Photo / Wayne Feisst
“In the last 12 months, that frequency has more than doubled to once every eight days, making storms a near‑weekly occurrence.”
Gibson said the recent Cyclone Vaianu had resulted in more than 890 claims to date.
“Cyclone Vaianu has been another stark reminder of how vulnerable New Zealand is to wild weather.”
October’s damaging windstorm in the Southland region generated the most weather-related claims in the last 12 months with 5289, according to the Wild Weather Tracker.
This was followed by a powerful storm system on February 16 that impacted the lower and central North Island, resulting in 3354 claims.
Ex-tropical Cyclone Tam, which hit Auckland and the upper North Island over Easter weekend in April last year, accounted for the third-highest number of weather-related claims with 3281.
Gibson said as severe weather events become more frequent, a shift in seasonal storm patterns was also noticeable.
“In this tracked period, 61% of storms occurred in spring and summer, rather than in the cooler months where we’ve previously seen more storm claims,” he said.
In previous years, around 55% of storms had occurred in autumn and winter.
“This shift highlights the volatile nature of New Zealand’s weather and the need for year‑round preparedness,” Gibson said.
An AMI, State and NZI Climate Change Poll last year found 90% of New Zealanders surveyed expect more frequent and extreme storms.
