The Insurance and Financial Services Ombudsman warns that severe weather in Northland, Bay of Plenty, Coromandel, and Tairāwhiti Gisborne will likely cause delays for insurers.
“Contacting insurers online is the quickest way to make a claim, helping people avoid long phone queues, which are common after major weather events,” Ombudsman Karen Stevens said.
“Insurers will prioritise the most urgent cases first, such as those with unlivable homes or those in vulnerable situations.”
She explained that delays typically stem from high claim volumes, restricted assessor access, and the demand for specialist tradespeople.
“Under the Fair Insurance Code, insurers must give clear information about claim progress, usually with updates every 20 business days or at another agreed interval,” Stevens said.
Banks have stepped in to assist those impacted.
ASB offers tailored support for personal, farming, and business customers impacted by the extreme weather. Assessed case by case, options include:
- Deferring loan repayments for up to three months or interest only for three months.
- Immediate consideration of requests for emergency credit card limit increases.
- Tailored solutions for eligible ASB business and rural customers, including access to working capital of up to $100,000.
Meanwhile, BNZ said it will also support customers impacted by the severe weather events. The package includes:
- Ability to review home lending facilities on a case-by-case basis.
- Access to temporary personal overdrafts to support customers who require access to funds urgently while they await insurance pay-outs. Standard interest rates and credit criteria apply.
- Access to temporary overdrafts of up to $10,000 with no application fee for small business customers. Standard interest rates and credit criteria apply.
- Access to temporary overdrafts for Agri, Business, and Commercial customers up to $100,000, with no application fee. Standard interest rates and credit criteria apply.