The Insurance Council of New Zealand says any government-backed flood pool would need to factor in the nation’s unique exposure to natural disaster risks.

The industry body told insuranceNEWS.com.au the nation faces a “sizeable challenge when it comes to flood risk”, with more than $200 billion worth of homes estimated to be exposed.  

“This is likely to increase with climate change. Public schemes have worked well in some other countries, but any scheme in New Zealand needs to consider the unique nature of the hazards we face – including coastal risks, inland flooding and high seismic risk – as well as our significant exposure to those hazards,” an ICNZ spokesman said. 

The comments come after a paper from the Helen Clark Foundation and engineering consultant WSP backed the introduction of a government flood insurance scheme.

The paper says New Zealand is “just one major disaster away from insurance retreat becoming a much more complex problem than it already is”. 

It estimates about 10,000 coastal properties across Auckland, Wellington, Christchurch and Dunedin may be considered uninsurable in the next 25 years due to erosion and inundation caused by climate change. 

ICNZ says it remains focused on supporting collective efforts to improve resilience. 

“We support a cross-party political consensus to tackle the urgent challenges of climate change and the development of a climate adaptation framework that creates a clear, co-ordinated and consistent approach nationally to natural hazards which reduces risk,” it said.