Insurance companies have spent millions settling claims arising from the June 2018 Tolaga Bay floods, but some residents are still well out of pocket, it has been suggested.

A report by Gisborne Herald detailed the case of Tolaga Bay farmer Mike Parker, who has been forced to wait on pending court action nearly seven months on from the floods that devastated his property.

“It has been a waiting game,” Parker told the publication. “We’re way out of pocket, miles out. We’ve had fences and drains that all needed tidying up and we had to do all that ourselves.

“We’ve just had to battle for everything and just trying to get on with life has been the hardest thing for us really,” he noted.

In December, the Insurance Council of New Zealand (ICNZ) announced that more than $226.4 million was spent by insurers settling claims arising from extreme weather events in 2018, with insurance claim payouts for damage caused through the June Tolaga Bay floods totalling $4 million.

At the time, ICNZ chief executive Tim Grafton said the increasing frequency and intensity of storms in New Zealand is in large part due to the impacts of climate change.

“It’s critical New Zealand adapts to the changing climate. It’s impacting on our communities and it’s impacting on our economy,” he added.