This article was prepared by Stephannie Ferris for AMI and is being published by the New Zealand Herald as advertorial.
That all-too-familiar wild weather has hit the country again recently. The top of the South was hardest hit, with flooding, rain and wind damage prompting evacuations and devastating homes. Further north, heavy downpours and squally winds lifted roofs, while a tornado in Taranaki turned garden items into dangerous projectiles.
As an island nation we have plenty of experience handling wild weather. We are practised in pulling together to help get family, friends, neighbours and colleagues through the worst of it.
But what goes into preparing our communities to bounce back after the storm passes?
Thinking ahead
At a very basic level, insurance is a safety net. It can provide fast, financial support that is ready to respond when specific circumstances – like damage from wild weather – arises.
That’s exactly where we focus our efforts. With nearly 100 years of experience supporting customers following major events and a mobile workforce across the motu, AMI acts fast to be ready at the earliest signs of wild weather or natural hazard events.
For our customers in Nelson, Tasman and Marlborough, our dedicated Major Events team were on alert days before, monitoring for the first sign of storm, layering insights from previous local events together with advanced meteorological mapping provided by IAG’s Natural Perils team together with forecasting from MetService and NIWA. Combining local knowledge from past events, such as the 2022 Tasman floods, we quickly crafted a detailed assessment of the risk and identified at-risk customers.
What seems complex, delivers simple outcomes for our customers. In many cases, this collaboration means we can determine the nature of likely damage ahead of time, even going so far as to line-up local tradespeople in anticipation of repairs.
As weather gears-up, so too do our efforts. Affected customers receive customised messages with tips on staying safe relative to their most immediate risks, practical insurance advice and early guidance on emergency repairs, evacuations, temporary accommodation and support via our Disaster Claims Hub.
On the ground
Setting up camp to work together with local and regional councils, Civil Defence and emergency service partners, our Major Events teams are amongst the first to roll into towns doing it tough. Specialist assessors and repairers – such as our dedicated Home Hub and Roadside Rescue teams – as well as claims consultants are dispatched to scene. Coordinating with suppliers to provide a heads-up is important to plan their resources and order the kinds of materials needed quickly to crack on with the big fix-up job ahead.
We take our role in getting customers’ claims assessed and paid seriously, so people can get on with their lives. Increased capacity for our customer care teams online and on the phones is key, and for those who need to leave their homes, temporary accommodation payments are prioritised. For less urgent concerns, the opportunity to sit down for a cuppa and a face-to-face chat with someone who can help is also important. This is why we quickly work to secure space in designated community hubs so claims consultants can connect with customers experiencing life changing events.
We must not underestimate the emotional toll these events take on communities, often hitting the same neighbourhoods and even households. That’s why we will keep being there when our customers need us.
To find out more about AMI insurance visit ami.co.nz.