Damaged vehicles, broken powerlines and piles of silt line State Highway 5 in Esk Valley after Cyclone Gabrielle. Photo: RNZ / Jemima Huston
The country's largest insurer, IAG, has been inundated with flood and cyclone claims, more in the last two months than in all of last year. IAG's brands include AMI, State Insurance and NZI. Since January, it has received nearly 40,000 claims. IAG New Zealand Chief Executive Amanda Whiting says they estimate 20,000 homes across the country are at risk of severe flooding, and the company is actively working with the government's Cyclone Recovery Taskforce, lead by Sir Brian Roche, about where flood-damaged houses should be written off for good.
