2022 claims in review

Another year has come and (nearly) gone so here’s a review of the year that was.  This year, initio processed nearly 45% more claims when compared to 2021. We think you’ll agree, it’s a big increase and is indicative of both of greater rate of weather-related claims, and the significant support from kiwi homeowners (more policies, means more claims)

In relation to the house & contents claims we saw this year, accidental damage was claimed most frequently at 24% but only cost 12% of all payouts. On the flip side of this, pesky weather-related events (storms, flooding, wind, rain) were the cause of 17% of our claims but responsible for nearly 28% of our payments. 

They were closely followed by various types of claims citing water damage as the cause (not including weather-related flood damage)  costing 23% and (accidental) fire claims 16% of all payouts. It’s also worth noting here that less than 1% of all claims cited accidental fire as the reason. This means that while it might not be a common reason to claim insurance, it sure is costly. 

Insurance is there to cover you for the unexpected, but sometimes the unexpected is also a little unusual. Our team have come up with the following claims that deviate from the usual reasons:

Dog + Robot Vacuum = Big mess

While modern technology is usually supposed to make life easier, sometimes it can go horribly wrong. This year we saw a claim involving someone looking after their parents’ dog. This person had to take a zoom meeting and during that time, the dog, unfortunately, had a code brown on a rug. This also coincided with their robot vacuum doing its rounds which tried its very best to help but ultimately made the situation much, much worse.

Both the vacuum and the rug needed to be replaced (but they kept the dog).

This year we saw 11 pet damage-related claims in total (1% of total claims). Our four-legged friends caused nearly $18,000 worth of damage this year – which doesn’t include one motor vehicle accident caused by swerving to avoid a cat. Dogs proved to be the most troublesome with the finger being pointed at them twice as often as cats.

Speaking of family members, children have also caused their fair share of damage this year. Although worth pointing out, the two-legged family members haven’t caused as much damage as pets.. We’ve only seen 6 claims involving children. These included:

• Drew on lounge carpet with a marker (for two different claims)
• Damaged fridge 
• Scratched television
• Damaged walls
• A toy was thrown at the TV – breaking the screen. 

Technology has also been in the wars this year. We’ve seen 7 claims involving drones, which a couple of years ago wouldn’t have even been a blip on our radar. Phones are still the most commonly claimed gadget, but who knows what the future looks like?

In terms of household items, toilets have been the most troublesome (including x2 phones dropped into the toilet) with blocked pipes coming in second. 

We try to remove roadblocks in our claims process – there’s enough stress dealing with the event that you’re claiming for in the first place. We make an effort to alleviate some of that stress by processing claims as quickly and efficiently as possible. 

Hopefully, you’ll never need to find out for yourself how good we are, but it’s nice to know we’re there for you when you need it

Percentages in this article have been rounded.