Te Karaka's long wait: Cyclone Gabrielle payouts still unsettled

Te Karaka’s long wait: Cyclone Gabrielle payouts still unsettled | Insurance Business New Zealand

Catastrophe & Flood

Te Karaka’s long wait: Cyclone Gabrielle payouts still unsettled

Advocate emphasises importance of making insurance processes easier to understand

Catastrophe & Flood

By
Roxanne Libatique

Te Karaka residents are still waiting for insurance settlements following Cyclone Gabrielle, which hit in February 2023.

In an interview with Newshub, Robyn Rauna of Te Aitanga-a-Māhaki shared how she has been assisting families in the community, with 14 households yet to receive their insurance payouts.

Insurance challenges facing Te Karaka residents

While Rauna acknowledged that insurance companies are making efforts to help, progress has been frustratingly slow.

“I have been meeting for eight weeks, weekly with the biggest insurer of the country, IAG, but in all that time not one claim was settled,” she said.

Rauna said she has updated key stakeholders, including Insurance Council of New Zealand (ICNZ) chief executive Kris Faafoi, Mayor Rehette Stoltz, and National MP Dana Kirkpatrick, on the lack of progress and clear timelines for settlements.

“I feel responsible for alerting people like Kris Faafoi, our mayor, and others about the need for better progress to be made,” she said.

Importance of making insurance processes easier to understand

Rauna emphasised the importance of making insurance processes easier to understand, both when purchasing policies and making claims.

She noted one claimant, who moved to Te Karaka after the Christchurch earthquake 13 years ago, is still waiting for her Cyclone Gabrielle insurance claim to be settled, despite only recently receiving compensation for her Christchurch home.

According to RNZ, 31 families are staying in hotel-apartments, and eight households are in Kāinga Ora’s Te Matawai apartments. These 118 individuals are in subsidised housing, awaiting home repairs, insurance payouts, or council property categorisation.

In June, the government extended the Temporary Accommodation Assistance to further support homeowners displaced by extreme weather events in 2022 and 2023. Homeowners awaiting council decisions on flood-damaged properties must complete a registration form by September for a free assessment.