6 NZB JUNE 2018
A
s the climate changes,
the complexity and
risks of running a
business are ever-
increasing, but those
risks vary from region to region.
Here in New Zealand and around
the world we’ve seen an increase in
seismic activity and the severity of
storms and other weather events.
As a result, NZI’s Executive
General Manager, Garry Taylor says
insurers had a record number of
natural disaster claims last year,
including claims from extreme
weather events and residual claims
from the Kaikoura and Canterbury
earthquakes.
But, he says, certain areas of the
country are more prone to different
types of risks and are therefore
claiming more.
“Some regions are more
susceptible to floods or
earthquakes, so it raises the
question of how to share the costs
associated with the losses from
these events?”
According to scientists, storms
are becoming more severe because
they are now happening in a warmer
and more energetic environment,
therefore they cause more damage.
As the temperature continues to
rise, this will become increasingly
evident.
Taylor says in the past year alone,
NZI incurred significant weather-related claims from Cyclones Gita,
Hola and Fehi – which caused
tens of millions of dollars’ worth of
damage across the country.
Taylor sees sea-level rise as an
issue that also needs to be on
insurers’ radars.
Sea levels have already increased
by about 20cm through the 20th
century and are expected to keep
rising at a rate of about 3mm per year.
“As sea levels continue to rise,
extreme tides will have a more
damaging effect on coastal areas
of New Zealand that have low lying
infrastructure, such as Dunedin,
Wellington, Hawke's Bay and
Christchurch,” says Taylor
“Councils are mapping areas moreRecord extreme
event claims
forces insurers to
[OPURKPɈLYLU[S`
Garry Taylor, Executive General Manager, NZI.