As extreme weather events increasingly impact New Zealand communities and infrastructure, the insurance industry has turned its focus to stormwater management and flood mitigation strategies during the 2025 Water New Zealand Stormwater Conference in Rotorua.
Opening on May 13, the three-day event is expected to draw more than 500 professionals, including engineers, policymakers, local authorities, and insurance leaders.
The agenda includes sessions exploring new approaches to stormwater challenges amid intensifying rainfall and flood events.
According to Water New Zealand chief executive Gillian Blythe, the sector faces growing pressure to adapt.
“We have major challenges ahead, and we need innovative and affordable solutions to address the growing risk of more intense rainfall events and flooding,” she said.
The conference’s keynote lineup features:
Other speakers include:
Themes of the event include integrated water management, urban design practices that reduce flood risk, and collaborative models involving iwi and community input.
“We need to ensure all communities, including hapu and iwi, work together to ensure we’re adopting the best of international knowledge and home-grown solutions,” Blythe said. “We know we can’t just hard engineer, or pipe our way out of many of the problems facing us. That’s why stormwater management is increasing about adopting nature-based and water sensitive urban design solutions as well as traditional piped networks.”
The insurance industry is already seeing the effects of these weather changes. According to the latest Wild Weather Tracker report from AMI, State, and NZI, over half of New Zealanders report anxiety tied to storms and rainfall. Flooding was identified as a primary concern for 43% of respondents, while earthquakes also remain a top issue.
Over the past two years, 54% of those surveyed said they had experienced a natural event, and 41% reported negative impacts.
In parallel with rising concern, New Zealanders are showing greater engagement in hazard preparedness. A recent survey commissioned by the Natural Hazards Commission (Toka Tū Ake) and conducted by NielsenIQ revealed that 71% of homeowners had made changes to reduce their property’s exposure to hazards. This marks a 15% increase from the previous year.
The survey also found that nearly 90% of respondents now factor hazard exposure into home-buying decisions. Armstrong suggested homeowners keep detailed records of improvements, as this information is becoming more relevant to potential buyers.
