Your insurance premiums are not only influenced by your own claims, but by national and international events and trends.  

As a client, it can be helpful to understand the factors affecting your premiums and the probable trends for the future. 

Premiums increase because they reflect the cost of providing insurance protection in the current economic and political environment. This includes:

• The global picture – insurance pricing continues to grow due to concerns over the unpredictability of weather events, in addition to rising inflation and labour and supply chain shortages and the impact of events like Russia’s war in Ukraine
• The NZ picture – the Auckland Anniversary weekend storms and Cycle Gabrielle have caused significant damage, costing insurers in excess of $1.5 billion for each event. This has accelerated what was already predicted to be tough market conditions for insurance buyers in New Zealand in 2023
• Increases in the average cost per claim – which has pushed up by supply chain issues meaning a long wait to get replacement goods or a long wait for tradespeople. 

As well, the influence of Australian weather events, CPI increases and a slowing economy all play a part. 

Yet - despite the current landscape, insurance coverage in New Zealand remains one of the widest available globally.  It’s critical that you review your sums insured annually to ensure they are adequate for your circumstances and the sums insured adequately reflect the risk.  

To find out more, check out our Insurance Landscape report.