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Rural insurer FMG has received 207 weather related insurance claims which may top $1 million.
About 86 have been for damage to farm buildings and 68 to houses. One claim alone is for a total loss farm building estimated at $240,000. Most claims have come from the top and lower parts of the South Island, with others coming in from the Wellington area.
"To make sure we get to clients as quickly as we can we've moved assessors from other parts of the country to help out in weather affected areas" says general manager for advice and insurance, Conrad Wilkshire.
"We've also boosted the claims team at our Service Centre in Palmerston North, which is experiencing a steady, but manageable increase in call numbers."
Wilkshire says more claims will be expected in the coming weeks, but the number received so far is a lower than what they would anticipate for such an event.
"Many of our rural clients have managed and mitigated risks themselves on the farm which we applaud, as risk management is something we work hard to promote," he says.
"We invest in targeted campaigns to help clients identify and mitigate risks, which aim to prevent small problems becoming bigger issues in the future.
"What also helped were the timely storm warnings issued by the MetService, so credit must go to them for their great work."
The early warnings meant that farmers moved stock and offered support to neighbours.
"While claims are steady right now, we know some clients will have been hit hard by the weather and are yet to fully assess damage to their property. We want these clients to know that when they're ready to make a claim we'll be on hand to help," says Wilkshire.
"Some of our frontline teams have already been on hand to help, with Rural Managers rolling their sleeves up and snow-raking with clients."
As well as working with clients who have already made claims, FMG is also proactively calling around 1,400 clients in the worst affected areas such as Leeston which suffered severe flooding.
"We're calling people in the first instance to make sure they're OK. Several claims have been lodged as a result of these calls, but the main feedback we're getting from clients is that they really appreciate the call and the concern we have for their welfare" says Wilkshire.
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