AMI Insurance predicts claims in New Zealand will soar ahead of an active festive and new year period.   

AMI says its data shows that insurance claims “typically spike two to six times the yearly average between Boxing Day and late January”.   

The insurer says daily contents claims rates in the week following the beginning of this year were six times higher than any other time in the year.  

AMI EGM Claims Wayne Tippet says the increase could be attributed to several reasons, including general policyholder complacency.  

“There’s clearly a seasonal spike over summer,” Mr Tippet said. “It’s likely because that’s when people finally relax after all the bustle of Christmas and are out and about on the roads.”  

“I expect that last year was so high because of the loosening of extended Covid restrictions and lockdowns, particularly in Auckland.”  

Among the notable figures revealed by the data were claims relating to Christmas trees, with AMI saying it receives about 36 claims each year relating to damage caused by falling trees at homes or off the back of cars.  

Beach-related claims were revealed to make up 5.3% of all claims in January, a sharp increase compared to the annual average of 2%. 

Electronics amounted to about one-third of items claimed for beach incidents, with jewellery second on the list at 22%. Other less common claimed items included glasses, hearing aids, and dentures.   

Claims involving damage to boats almost doubled during last year’s festive period, with the insurer receiving an average of 8.1 claims per day, compared to the yearly mean of 4.1 claims per day.   

The insurer has also weighed in on this year’s Christmas dinner options, with its data suggesting that ham is the safest way to go.   

“We’ve only had one single claim for a Christmas ham, related to flooding while pre-soaking the ham. However, turkeys do feature, with four claims last Christmas, with half of those relating to helpful children,” Mr Tippet said.  

AMI advises customers to be aware of potential risks to avoid being surprised with hefty costs during what it expects to be another active festive season.  

“At this time of the year, no one wants to be accidentally out of pocket, so it’s a good idea to put an insurance review on your Christmas list,” Mr Tippet said.