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Public insurance and climate change (part one): Past trends in weather-related insurance in New Zealand

Author

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  • Fleming, David A.
  • Noy, Ilan
  • Pastor-Paz, Jacob
  • Owen, Sally

Abstract

Climate change appears to be increasing the frequency and magnitude of extreme weather events, negatively affecting communities as well as posing long-term sustainability challenges to insurance (risk transfer) mechanisms. New Zealand’s public natural hazard insurer, the Earthquake Commission (EQC), covers homeowners for damage to land (and in some cases to dwellings and contents) caused by landslip, storm or flood. We comprehensively explore the EQC claims data to investigate these weather-related claims from 2000-2017. We find no clear upward trend yet emerging in the number of claims or their value. We find that the northern regions of both islands are the source of most claims, that only a handful of weather events caused a large proportion of EQC’s weather-related pay-outs, that the average property lodging a weather-related claim is located twice as close to the coast as the national average, and that properties with claims usually are cited on much steeper land than the typical property in New Zealand. We also explore the relationship between claims and socio-economic characteristics, finding that higher income neighbourhoods appear to be those most benefiting from the EQC coverage for weather events.

Suggested Citation

  • Fleming, David A. & Noy, Ilan & Pastor-Paz, Jacob & Owen, Sally, 2018. "Public insurance and climate change (part one): Past trends in weather-related insurance in New Zealand," Motu Working Papers 290502, Motu Economic and Public Policy Research.
    • Handle: RePEc:ags:motuwp:290502
    DOI: 10.22004/ag.econ.290502
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    1. is not listed on IDEAS
    2. Owen Sally & Noy Ilan & Pástor-Paz Jacob & Fleming David, 2021. "Measuring the Impact of Insurance on Recovery after Extreme Weather Events Using Nightlights," Asia-Pacific Journal of Risk and Insurance, De Gruyter, vol. 15(2), pages 169-199, July.
    3. Feng Kong, 2021. "How to Understand the Role of Insurance Mechanism in a Global Pandemic?," IJERPH, MDPI, vol. 18(13), pages 1-11, June.
    4. Buckle, Robert A., 2018. "A quarter of a century of fiscal responsibility: The origins and evolution of fiscal policy governance and institutional arrangements in New Zealand, 1994 to 2018," Working Paper Series 20848, Victoria University of Wellington, Chair in Public Finance.
    5. Feng Kong & Shao Sun, 2021. "Better Understanding Insurance Mechanism in Dealing with Climate Change Risk, with Special Reference to China," IJERPH, MDPI, vol. 18(6), pages 1-14, March.
    6. Olga Filippova & Cuong Nguyen & Ilan Noy & Michael Rehm, 2020. "Who Cares? Future Sea Level Rise and House Prices," Land Economics, University of Wisconsin Press, vol. 96(2), pages 207-224.
    7. Sally Owen & Ilan Noy & Jacob Pástor-Paz & David Fleming, 2019. "EQC and extreme weather events (part 2): Measuring the impact of insurance on New Zealand landslip, storm and flood recovery using nightlights," Motu Working Papers 19_19, Motu Economic and Public Policy Research.
    8. Buckle, Robert A., 2018. "A quarter of a century of fiscal responsibility: The origins and evolution of fiscal policy governance and institutional arrangements in New Zealand, 1994 to 2018," Working Paper Series 7693, Victoria University of Wellington, Chair in Public Finance.

    More about this item

    Keywords

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    JEL classification:

    • G22 - Financial Economics - - Financial Institutions and Services - - - Insurance; Insurance Companies; Actuarial Studies
    • G28 - Financial Economics - - Financial Institutions and Services - - - Government Policy and Regulation
    • Q51 - Agricultural and Natural Resource Economics; Environmental and Ecological Economics - - Environmental Economics - - - Valuation of Environmental Effects
    • Q54 - Agricultural and Natural Resource Economics; Environmental and Ecological Economics - - Environmental Economics - - - Climate; Natural Disasters and their Management; Global Warming
    • Q58 - Agricultural and Natural Resource Economics; Environmental and Ecological Economics - - Environmental Economics - - - Environmental Economics: Government Policy
    • R28 - Urban, Rural, Regional, Real Estate, and Transportation Economics - - Household Analysis - - - Government Policy

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