Write-offs expected to top 10,000
About 10,000 vehicles damaged in the Auckland floods in January and by Cyclone Gabrielle are expected to be written off by insurance companies, predicts Turners Auto Retail.
Greg Hedgepeth, chief executive, describes that figure as a best estimate that excludes uninsured cars.
“The big unknown is the cars that aren’t insured,” he says. The Insurance Council of NZ says around 90 per cent of vehicles are insured, but one-in-10 policies only cover third party, fire and theft, and don’t cover flood damage to cars.
Turners handles around half of the insurance write-off market under contracts with Suncorp, which owns Vero and AA Insurance, Tower and some other smaller companies, adds Hedgepeth. He believes about 5,000 are likely to go Turners’ way with a high proportion of flood-damaged vehicles being write-offs.
IAG’s write-offs are handled by Manheim. A spokeswoman for IAG’s insurance brands – AMI, State and NZI – says as of February 24, they had received 4,903 vehicle claims from the recent floods and Cyclone Gabrielle.
That number included private and business vehicles. She adds: “Of these claims, we estimate 85 per cent will be a total loss.”
AA Insurance has had 2,450 motor claims because of recent weather events. “For the Auckland Anniversary floods, around 75 per cent of vehicles have been written off resulting in a payout or an offer of a being made to the customer,” a spokeswoman told Stuff. “This is due to flood damage deeming the vehicle unrepairable and unsafe.”
For Cyclone Gabrielle, 45 per cent of cars assessed have been written off so far. After a policyholder is paid out, they become the insurers’ property. The likes of Turners then handle disposal with many buyers at online auctions then stripping them for useable parts. That said, Hedgepeth notes a large proportion of flood-damaged cars will just be shredded.
Written-off cars are deregistered and entered onto the New Zealand Transport Agency Waka Kotahi damaged-vehicle database.
A spokeswoman for the agency says that between February 1 and February 24, 567 water and fire-damaged vehicles were added to the damaged-vehicle register, and another 317 had been notified, but were waiting to be processed and added to the list.
“We expect this list to increase as more owners contact their insurers and insurance assessors work through the growing number of claims,” she adds.
Car dealers are required under the Fair Trading Act to tell prospective purchasers if a vehicle has ever been written off. If they don’t, consumers can lodge a claim with the Motor Vehicle Disputes Tribunal. Traders and buyers can check Waka Kotahi’s written-off vehicle register before making purchases.
