Insuring New Zealand

We paid $1.7bn in resolving our customers’ 461,000 claims.

This year we paid $1.7bn in resolving our customers’ 461,000 claims, helping them get back on their feet following natural disasters, accidents, fires and other mishaps. Storm, tsunami and flooding events affected our customers with 26,000 claims, nearly double last year’s figure.

We know that New Zealand is an unpredictable place, but our claims data clearly shows that severe weather is becoming more frequent and more damaging to people’s homes and property. In the past year alone, we supported our customers through 32 severe weather events. The majority of these were storms and floods that caused significant damage to people’s homes, possessions, and vehicles, and in some instances, have had long lasting impact on the affected communities.

All New Zealanders will recall the floods that struck Westport in July 2021, the West Auckland floods of August 2021, ex-tropical cyclone Dovi in February this year, and the storm that wreaked havoc across the country, particularly affecting Tairāwhiti, just a month later. Through each event, we were there supporting our customers and helping to resolve their claims.

We launched the IAG Disaster Claims Hub – a one-stop resource for all our customers to help them better prepare for and recover from wild weather.

The Hub provides thorough information on how to prepare for a severe weather event, and what to do afterwards if you need to make a claim. Customers can access advice specific to the type of event that has affected them, covering storms and floods, hail, earthquakes, scrub fires, tsunamis, and volcanic activity. 

The Hub also contains step-by-step overviews of the process of resolving a claim, as well as information on what to do if your house becomes unsafe, access to temporary accommodation, and emergency repairs.

The Disaster Claims Hub is available to all our customers across the State, AMI, NZI, Lumley, Swann, Lantern, and NAC brands, as well as customers of our bank partners, ASB, Westpac, BNZ, and the Cooperative Bank.

We acquired roadside assistance provider, First Rescue, and formally welcomed them to the IAG whānau. 

First Rescue are an integral part of IAG’s network of service providers who help get customers back on the road through their roadside support services.

As the engine room behind AMI’s Breakdown Service and State’s Roadside Rescue, in FY22 First Rescue helped 57,495 of our customers get out of sticky roadside situations such as flat tyres, flat batteries, keys locked inside vehicles, emergency fuel and mechanical or electrical failure.

First Rescue has a fantastic track record helping over 250,000 New Zealanders annually with around the clock, 24/7 support and coverage. 

We’re excited to have First Rescue on board and look forward to seeing how we can continually develop our roadside assistance services for our customers. 

We released our Improving Road Safety Through Technology report.

NZI’s Fleet Risk Management team released the Improving Road Safety Through Technology report which provides insights on awareness, understanding and usage of new driving technologies and the impact they have on safety.

Their hope is that the findings will play a part in educating drivers and fleet managers on the benefits of Advanced Driver Assistance Systems (ADAS) and support New Zealand businesses to implement these technologies successfully through effective training.

Road deaths remain tragically high across New Zealand, with 318 people killed in crashes on NZ roads in 2021, and NZI’s Fleet Risk Management team is dedicated to doing their part to address these confronting statistics. The team work collaboratively with fleet owners around the country to create safer workplaces, improve driver performance, and identify trends that could help explain why accidents occur and then work directly with businesses to prevent them from happening in the first place.   

We’re making things simpler for customers affected by natural disasters, through the Natural Disaster Response Model.

Working closely with EQC, ICNZ and the broader insurance industry, we helped develop the National Disaster Response Model – a new EQC claims process which means private insurers act on behalf of EQC to manage and resolve claims, making the claim process simpler for customers during a stressful time.

As the largest general insurer in New Zealand, we’ve seen our fair share of natural disasters and we know all too well that our customers simply want the information and support they need to put their lives back together as quickly as possible. Under the NDRM, customers with current home insurance, whose home or land is damaged in a natural disaster, can lodge their claims with us, as their insurer. We’ll then assess, manage and settle their claims, including any EQCover claim. 

While we hope most New Zealanders will never need to experience the new model first-hand, we know that if they do, this successful industry-wide effort has delivered a system that will help make their recovery experience as seamless as possible.

We were proud to be recognised for the part we played in driving the NDRM to fruition, having received an award for our leadership at New Zealand Insurance Awards, hosted by the Australian and New Zealand Institute of Insurance and Finance (ANZIFF).

We continued our work with Government on key issues facing the insurance industry, such as the release of the Government’s Draft National Adaptation Plan, the introduction of new climate related disclosure standards, and reform of insurance contract law – all with the aim of creating a sustainable insurance industry that supports customers.

It’s been a year since AMI teamed up with SeniorNet, and we've helped over 1,000 AMI customers aged over 50 by providing them access to SeniorNet's range of digital support so they can build confidence in using our online services.

State released their second Mistake Report, delving into New Zealand’s biggest blunders and busting mistake prone myths, after we saw a 14.5% reduction in accidental damage contents claims following the release of the first State Mistake Report.