Levin tornado claims reach $8.1 million

Insurance claims from Levin residents after a tornado ripped through the small town in May amount to $8.1 million.

Provisional data shows there were 807 claims for damage after the May 20 tornado.

Numerous houses and businesses were affected by the wild weather, with one mother of three target="_blank">describing how the tornado hit her house and left her eldest daughter bloodied and terrified.

Hail caught up in the tornado also left a herd of cows bleeding, and ruined feed set aside for winter on an Ōhau farm.

Of the claims, 532 were domestic, 184 were for vehicles, 86 were commercial, two were for business interruption and three were uncategorised.

"While there have always been tornadoes, they seem particularly unusual in Horowhenua but reflect the type of weather we can expect to see more of as a result of climate change," said Insurance Council of New Zealand Te Kāhui Inihua o Aotearoa chief executive, Tim Grafton.

A woman surveys the damage to her property. Photo / Mark Mitchell

"A warmer atmosphere is more energetic and capable of holding more moisture, which can give rise to more extreme weather such as storms and related phenomena such as tornadoes."

The average domestic claim was just over $12,000 and the average vehicle claim was just over $4200.

At the top end of the domestic claims, several homes were extensively damaged with some needing major work to repair their roofs.

Some homes were uninhabitable with whanau relying upon their insurers to pay for temporary accommodation.

Damage to a Levin property. Photo / Mark Mitchell

"Given the average cost of claims, especially for people's homes and vehicles, and that damage can seemingly come out of nowhere, this event really does underline the importance of insurance," Grafton said.

The Horowhenua and Kapiti areas have been hit with a spate of tornadoes in recent months.