“You can have insurance, and lose a house in a flood, or an earthquake, and you don’t get everything back because there is a whole lot of inconvenience and uninsured costs you never get back,” Swindley said.
These were not usually catastrophic costs and homeowners should not find their homes become uninsurable, or face rapid increases in their premiums.
Charlie O'Mannin/Stuff
Greg and Nickie Kirks' property in Winchester was damaged in the Canterbury floods after the Opihi River burst its banks.
But, Swindley said: “Looking to the future, people are still going to be able to get insurance, but they will be on much more property-specific terms.”