The storm that packed a month of rain into 24 hours has resulted in insured costs of $61.7m the Insurance Council of New Zealand reported today. The storm dubbed the Tasman Tempest hit Auckland and the Coromandel over 7 to 12 March 2017 with the township of Whangamata being hit the hardest. Provisional data released in May had 7,035 claims costing $41.7 million and the final data has now upgraded claims to 7,774 and costs to $61.7 million. “The weather bombs we’ve had in recent months highlights the importance insurance plays when disaster strikes.  We would hope that uninsured renters are now taking steps to ensure their contents are protected to see them through these types of events. And for homeowners that they check their sum insured is enough to rebuild in the event of a total loss” said Insurance Council Chief Executive Tim Grafton.

 The final costs for the March flood bring natural hazard events for 2017 to $174.7 million.