Free skin cancer spot checks at a West Coast farming event found suspicious lesions in more than one in four people screened, adding to evidence that rural New Zealanders face elevated skin cancer risk with less health insurance cover to fall back on.
Melanoma New Zealand conducted 118 free screenings at AgFest West Coast in October 2026. Of those checked, 32 were referred for follow-up. The suspicious spots included three suspected melanomas, 20 suspected basal cell carcinomas, five suspected squamous cell carcinomas, and four other suspicious lesions.
The screenings were part of the FMG Spot Check Roadie, a programme funded by the mutual insurer to take a mobile screening van to rural events where access to dermatology services is limited.
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New Zealand has one of the highest melanoma rates in the world. SunSmart NZ estimates that approximately 2,800 invasive melanomas and 90,000 non-melanoma skin cancers are diagnosed each year. In 2022, 535 New Zealanders died from skin cancer, according to Te Whatu Ora’s Cancer Web Tool.
The cost to the health system is growing. SunSmart NZ puts annual skin cancer treatment costs at approximately $454 million. The Cancer Society of New Zealand’s 2026 election manifesto estimated the figure at closer to $500 million, with costs projected to reach $700 million by 2050.
Skin cancer treatment falls outside Accident Compensation Corporation (ACC) cover. That makes private health insurance the primary pathway to timely specialist care, surgery, and follow-up treatment.
The coverage gap is sharpest in the communities most likely to need it. New Zealand Health Survey data for the year ended June 2025, published by the Ministry of Health, shows that adults in the most deprived neighbourhoods (NZDep quintile 5) have health insurance coverage rates of roughly 18%, compared with approximately 49% in the least deprived areas (quintile 1). Many rural and farming communities sit in higher deprivation quintiles, which means the populations most exposed to outdoor UV risk are also the least likely to hold health cover.
For brokers, this creates a clear conversation point. Clients who let policies lapse risk being re-underwritten with pre-existing conditions if a later diagnosis follows. Retention is particularly important in farming and agricultural portfolios where skin cancer risk is elevated and coverage rates are lower.
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Melanoma New Zealand key partnerships manager Kylie Williams said the AgFest results were among the highest recorded on the roadshow. “To identify 1 in 4 people with suspicious lesions from 118 spot checks is significant and some of the highest rates we have seen on the FMG Spot Check Roadie,” Williams said.
She added: “We know rural New Zealanders can spend a lot of time working outdoors, and that UV exposure can happen in rain, hail and shine, so taking spot checks to events like AgFest is one way we can make it easier for people to get their skin checked. Melanoma Awareness Month is also a timely reminder for everyone to get to know their skin and get anything new or changing checked.”
FMG head of external events and sponsorship Charlotte Cooley said the programme targets communities where screening access is limited. “For us, it’s about helping make these services accessible to rural communities. These are people who may have otherwise carried on with their day-to-day lives not knowing there was something they needed to get checked,” Cooley said.
WorkSafe New Zealand states that businesses with outdoor workers must manage solar UV radiation risk so far as is reasonably practicable under the Health and Safety at Work Act 2015.
For brokers advising clients in farming, forestry, and construction, this connects workplace health obligations to the adequacy of both liability and health insurance coverage. The Cancer Society of New Zealand notes that more than 90% of skin cancers are preventable, and that early detection makes the majority treatable.
In 2025, FMG purchased a South Island screening van for Melanoma New Zealand, giving the programme coverage across both islands.
