New Zealand September storm causes $68 million in insured losses

Insured damages from a severe storm that hit New Zealand in early September are estimated at $68 million, the Insurance Council of New Zealand said Wednesday.

“About 7,000 claims worth over $15 million were settled for home and contents damage,” the ICNZ’s chief executive Tim Grafton noted in a statement.

“Over $38 million in commercial material damage claims and almost $10 million in motor vehicle claims were settled. There was also $2.5 million in damage to crops and over $1 million paid out for business interruption,” he added.

“These are provisional figures at this stage, but they confirm that the cost of storms in 2013 has now reached $157 million so far. The final costs of the June 21-22 storm was $39.3 million, the April 19-22 was $46.2 million and 4-7 May was $2.9 million.”

Data was collected on a nationwide basis, not regional, due to the nature of the storm, the ICNZ noted.