More than 300 insurance claims follow Saturday's Auckland tornado
Monday, 21 June 2021
Insurers received 301 claims in the 48 hours after a tornado ripped through streets in the South Auckland suburb of Papatoetoe on Saturday morning, the Insurance Council of New Zealand says.
“We expect this figure to increase as residents assess the damage and lodge claims with their insurers,” said council chief executive Tim Grafton.
An estimate of the final claims cost of the tornado would be not be ready until August, he said.
The country’s largest insurer IAG, which owns the State, AMI and NZI brands, had received 117 claims so far.
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IAG had claims assessors and builders on the ground inspecting homes within hours of the tornado passing, said Dean MacGregor, executive general manager for claims at IAG.
“Since Saturday afternoon, our teams have been in the community to assess damage and gather necessary information to process customers’ insurance claims.
“With further bad weather forecast, our priority has been to assess damage to broken windows and roofing, so people’s homes can be secured as quickly as possible.”
The majority of the 117 claims were for home insurance policies, followed by contents insurance.
“We expect to receive more claims over the coming days and weeks,” MacGregor said.
The tornado, which struck about 8am on Saturday, ripped roofs from homes, and killed one person and injured at least two others at Ports of Auckland's South Auckland Freight Hub.
The message from insurers immediately after the tornado was for homeowners to stay safe, and reach out to their insurer for support.
“It is exactly these types of sudden unexpected events that your insurer is there to support you with, and we know insurers have already been providing support to their customers,” Grafton said.
“Once the initial shock has passed they can turn their attention to the tidy up with their insurer there to help them get things back to normal,” he said.
The Insurance Council issued advice similar to that after the Canterbury flooding at the end of May.
It included that people should, where possible, make their home safe and sanitary, but not to do non-essential repairs.
“If safe to do so, try to protect your home from further damage,” Grafton said.
Homeowners had building inspectors from Auckland Council through their homes to assess whether they were safe to be in.
Council inspectors went through more than 240 homes on Sunday, passing the majority as safe for their inhabitants to remain in.
“What was pleasing was that there were generally fewer homes that were considered unhabitable than first thought,” said Ian McCormick, the council’s general manager for building consents.
Grafton advised homeowners who paid for essential work to keep copies of invoices, and to record damage with photos and videos, and not to dispose of anything until they had spoken to their insurer.
If items had to be thrown away, people should photograph them before doing so, he said.
The Insurance Council said homeowners should always wear protective gear, including gloves and masks, in case they were exposed to hazardous material like asbestos, which is present in many homes.
Grafton urged people whose property was badly damaged to speak to their insurers about whether they could claim for the costs of temporary accommodation.
“For those with homes that are uninhabitable due to damage from the tornado, they may be eligible for a temporary accommodation benefit included in most home and contents policies,” he said.
“If you’re in this situation ask your insurer what support they can offer you.”