Insured damage from storms in New Zealand is forecast to hit a 10-year high of more than $NZ100 million ($88 million) this year.

By the end of June insured losses totalled $NZ83 million ($73 million), according to the Insurance Council of New Zealand (ICNZ).

In June nationwide storms cost $NZ33.9 million ($29.9 million), while weather that flooded parts of the Nelson and Bay of Plenty regions in April caused insured damage of $NZ46.2 million ($40.74 million).

It is set to be the most costly year for storms since 2004, when insured losses were $NZ181.03 million ($159.65 million).

The country faces higher premiums, affordability issues and even withdrawal of cover in some areas if it does not adapt to extreme weather, ICNZ CEO Tim Grafton says.

“There’s an increasing body of climate change evidence that shows the probable scenarios we face in the west of New Zealand are greater levels of precipitation and higher wind velocities,” he told insuranceNEWS.com.au.

“For coastal areas, the combination of those factors, combined with sea levels rising, poses increased risk of storm surge.”

Each dollar spent on mitigation saves more later, Mr Grafton says.

ICNZ has welcomed the Government’s commitment to spend up to $NZ201 million ($177.26 million) over 10 years on the National Science Challenges research program, to strengthen resilience to natural hazards.

“More research is needed to inform the frequency and magnitude of weather events and [develop] high-grade modelling that builds in cascading events; floods bring with them landslides, storms bring winds and with high tides come storm surges,” Mr Grafton said.

The country needs “greater adaptation and design measures… to reduce post-disaster costs, so if we have councils consenting to build houses or other buildings that are to last 50 to 100 years, we want to see those councils informed by hazard map data that is consistently applied across the country”.