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Body Corporate Insurance Glossary

Natural Disaster Cover

Natural disaster cover is the layer of insurance that responds to damage from earthquake, volcanic activity, tsunami, landslip, and (in most NZ policies) flood. For body corporates it sits above NHC's NZ$300K per-dwelling first layer.

Private natural disaster cover is where the largest premium movements have occurred in the NZ body corporate market over 2023–2026. Drivers include: 2011 Christchurch earthquake reinsurance reset, Cyclone Gabrielle (Feb 2023) flood losses, and global reinsurance hardening.

The structure of cover varies materially between insurers — particularly around flood (some insurers exclude high-risk zones, others apply percentage excesses), seismic loading by region (Wellington and Christchurch attract premium uplifts), and whether the policy aggregates losses or treats each event separately.

See also

Related terms

NHC Cover (NZ)

NHC (the Natural Hazards Commission Toka Tū Ake) provides automatic first-layer natural disaster cover for residential buildings in New Zealand: up to NZ$345,000 + GST per dwelling unit for damage from earthquake, volcanic activity, hydrothermal activity, landslip, and tsunami. Premiums are paid via the NHC levy on private fire insurance.

Excess

The excess is the amount the body corporate must pay before the insurer contributes to a claim. Body corporate policies typically have multiple excesses — a standard excess for general claims, plus separate (often much larger) excesses for natural disaster, water damage, and weathertightness claims.

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