The initial industry loss estimate for Cyclone Gabrielle is NZ$1,543m ($963m), based on loss data collected from the New Zealand insurance market, says PERILS, the independent Zurich-based organisation that provides industry-wide catastrophe insurance data.
In line with the PERILS coverage definition for New Zealand, the loss estimate covers the property line of business.
Cyclone Gabrielle brought heavy rains and strong winds to New Zealand’s North Island during the week of 11-17 February 2023, leading to widespread damage across the North Island, with the Hawke’s Bay region particularly badly affected. The cyclone struck two weeks after devastating floods had affected Auckland and surrounding areas on the North Island of New Zealand. Although the eye of the cyclone did not make landfall, its width and intensity ensured that its impact was felt across most of the North Island, especially affecting the Hawke’s Bay region, Auckland and surrounding areas with extreme rainfall and strong winds.
Mr Darryl Pidcock, head of PERILS Asia-Pacific, said, “New Zealand has largely been spared from catastrophic weather events in the past 50 years. This makes it all the more unusual that two billion-dollar weather events, first the North Island Floods and then Cyclone Gabrielle, should occur within weeks of each other. These catastrophes represent one of the most challenging periods for the insurance industry since the Canterbury earthquake sequence of 2010-11.”
