In the wake of a rising number of natural disasters across Australia and New Zealand, the spotlight is on insurers’ responses to the requirements of consumers and regulators.

As floods and Cyclone Gabrielle battered Auckland and the North Island of New Zealand in January and February, the trail of destruction provided a terrible reminder of the growing threat that natural disasters present. 

The state of emergency, just the third in New Zealand’s history, comes in the wake of devastating storms and cyclones in Australia in recent years that many scientists attribute to the effects of climate change.

Pressure on insurers mounts

As insurers respond to a surge of claims from such natural disasters, the pressure is mounting for them to satisfy consumers and regulators — financially and in terms of compliance.

The financial impost on insurers is enormous, with the Insurance Council of Australia releasing data showing that the insurance bill from storms and floods during the past three years in Australia has hit $12.3 billion.

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