The estimated insured damage bill for the fierce storms that lashed NZ’s lower North Island last week is likely to exceed the $100 million mark – making it one of the country’s worst storms on record.

The Insurance Council of New Zealand (ICNZ) doubled its initial $50 million damage estimate only a few days after the disaster. Loss adjusters were stretched to meet calls which were centred around the south of the North Island.

ICNZ CEO Chris Ryan told Sunrise Exchange News that the storm – which has been described as a one-in-40-year event – is “definitely the worst I’ve ever seen”.

He says the damage ­– which centred around Wellington, Wanganui and the Manawatu region – is currently costed at $100 million, but there has been pressure on the industry to raise its estimate.

“It’s too early to estimate a higher figure, and despite the media’s pressure to increase the amount, the industry has to be able to justify the amount it estimates,” Mr Ryan said. “The industry will congregate to reassess the figure sometime this week.”

The severity of the storm exceeds many of NZ’s most notable disasters, including the 1968 storm that sank the large inter-island ferry Wahine, and 1988’s Cyclone Bola, which caused about $52 million in insured damages.

Mr Ryan says many houses, businesses and cars were damaged, and a large number of farms were literally “swept away” during the storm. Livestock and crop losses have been particularly severe.

Vital infrastructure has also been affected, with one small farming area alone losing 22 bridges.

The 30 non-stop hours of torrential rain and 120kmh winds claimed the lives of two people and led to the evacuation of more than 1000 residents. Hundreds of schools in the worst affected areas were closed, flights were cancelled, nursing homes were evacuated and non-urgent surgery in Wellington hospitals was cancelled after staff were unable to get to work.

Mr Ryan estimates about 25% of the householders affected by the storms are either underinsured or non-insured, with the figure increasing to as high as 40% in smaller country towns. “You have to look at the sustainability of a town and whether they’ll actually be able to rebuild if nobody has insurance.”

Despite the post-disaster turmoil, he says the industry is dealing “extremely well” with claims. “The industry has done a really good job at working together,” he said. “Some policyholders weren’t able to contact their insurer for quite some time because phone lines had gone down, so that freed-up some phone lines for a while and allowed insurers to deal with a smaller amount of claims at the start. ”