Statistics

Natural disaster insurance statistics

What earthquakes, floods and cyclones have cost New Zealand, event by event.

Natural disasters have caused more than $31 billion in New Zealand insurance claims since 2010, about 80 percent from earthquakes and 20 percent from extreme weather. This exposure is why home insurance works differently here than almost anywhere else, with a government natural hazard scheme layered under private cover. [2]

Figures below come from the ICNZ disaster cost database, the Natural Hazards Commission, NIWA and the Treasury. Part of our New Zealand insurance statistics hub.

What are the costliest insured disasters in New Zealand's history?

The Canterbury earthquakes of 2010 and 2011 remain New Zealand's costliest insured event at $22.9 billion at the time, about $32 billion in today's dollars. Nothing since has come within a tenth of it, though the 2023 twin weather events set the record for claim volume. [1]

Insured cost by event, inflation adjusted [1]

Canterbury earthquakes (2010 to 2011)

$32.0b

$22.9b at the time; largest insured event in NZ history

Kaikōura earthquake (2016)

$2.98b

45,015 claims

Auckland Anniversary floods (2023)

$2.13b

59,189 claims

Cyclone Gabrielle (2023)

$1.97b

58,848 claims

ICNZ cost of natural disasters database, private insurance claims, inflation adjusted. Bars drawn to scale: the Canterbury sequence really does dwarf everything since.

The last three years [1]

Year	Insured losses	Notes
2023	$4,164.4m	Dominated by the twin weather catastrophes
2024	$64.6m	One of the quietest years in two decades
2025 (to date)	$278.3m	Led by South Island severe weather at $158.9m

The swing from $4.2 billion to $64.6 million in one year is why insurers price for the bad years, not the quiet ones.

How the 2023 catastrophes were settled [3] [4]

Claims from the floods and Cyclone Gabrielle 118,000+
Paid out within about 7 months $2.05b
Claims fully settled by March 2024 91%
Contents claims settled by March 2024 94%

Settlement pace matters when you choose an insurer, and it is the kind of detail we watch when arranging cover.

How does the government's natural hazard scheme fit in?

The Natural Hazards Commission Toka Tū Ake (formerly EQC) provides NHCover, the first layer of natural hazard cover for insured homes, with your private insurer covering damage above the cap. [5]

$480 + GST maximum annual levy, collected through your home premium [5]
Fire cover NHCover only exists while you hold a private home policy that includes it [5]
No contents EQC contents cover ended 1 July 2019; only a private contents policy covers belongings

$345,000

NHCover building cap per home per event, GST inclusive [5]

$12.3 billion

of offshore reinsurance held by the Natural Hazards Commission from June 2026, a record for the scheme [6]

750,000

people, about 15% of the population, live in areas exposed to extreme inland flooding, with $235 billion of buildings alongside them [7]

~80%

of the Canterbury earthquakes' economic losses were insured, one of the highest shares recorded for a major disaster anywhere [2]

The practical takeaway sits with your sum insured. If it is set too low, neither NHCover nor your private policy makes up the difference after a major event. Our rebuild cost calculator helps you check yours.

Sources

Cite any figure on this page with a link back to it, alongside the primary source below. For the full national picture, see our New Zealand insurance statistics hub.

Is your sum insured ready for the next event?

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