A year since the launch of the Natural Hazards Portal, new research from the Natural Hazards Commission Toka Tū Ake shows the Portal is helping people understand their risks and take actions to make their homes safer.

The new report from NielsonIQ found that 53 per cent of people took steps to improve their resilience after visiting the Portal.

The most common actions were reviewing or purchasing home insurance (30 per cent) and securing tall or heavy furniture to walls (28 per cent).

Other steps included preparing emergency kits and moving beds and cots away from windows.

“This research is a great way to celebrate the Portal’s first birthday,” says NHC’s Head of Risk Reduction, Sarah-Jayne McCurrach, who led the development of the Portal.

“We know that more New Zealanders are considering natural hazards when buying a home, and this report suggests they are turning that interest into action when they become homeowners.” 

Since its launch, the Portal has connected over 57,000 people with information about how past natural hazards have impacted their potential new homes, or current properties.

“The Portal is an important resource to help people make decisions about where to live or how to strengthen their homes against the hazards they may face. The growing traffic we see on the Portal aligns with New Zealanders’ growing appetite for risk information.”

90 per cent of Kiwi homebuyers consider natural hazards when buying a new home. In the last two years since May 2022, the proportion of people who have taken steps to make their homes safer has increased by 10 per cent, to 60 per cent. 

The Portal gives users quick and easy access to information about settled NHC insurance claims on individual properties across New Zealand. If a claim has been settled on a property, the Portal’s Claims Map shows users information about the event that caused the damage, when it happened, and how they can prepare for future events. 

Wellington house hunter, Raj P, has been using the Portal to help inform his purchase. 

“When I see a property for sale that I’m interested in, I always check first whether the house and surrounding properties have had any NHC claims," says Raj.

"Some people might find it scary, but it’s better to know the reality.

"It’s a great tool to get a quick and accurate understanding of what may have happened to the property in the past and to know what questions to ask to understand if the damage has been fixed.” 

Sarah-Jane stresses that past claims aren’t necessarily a bad thing.

For example, strengthening work may have been done to restore the property to a stronger state than before the event.

Likewise, a property without a claim doesn’t mean it has never been damaged by an event, only that an NHC insurance claim hasn’t been settled. 

NHC is now turning its attention to making the Portal even more useful for New Zealanders by adding new features.

“We want to be able to show people what their homes and neighbourhoods may look like in the next 10, 20 and even 50 years, and connect them with information on what to do about their risks," says Sarah-Jane.

One of the next features NHC hopes to add on the Portal is local and regional hazard maps – such as tsunami, earthquake and liquefaction – on top of the existing Claims Map, allowing people to explore the impacts of past hazards as well as potential future hazards on properties. 

The future Portal will make even greater use of the existing research, data and modelling that the NHC and others invest in to help New Zealanders make informed decisions about their natural hazard risks. 

“Much of this information already exists and we want to provide this in a way that is useful for New Zealanders. By collaborating across agencies to bring this information into the Portal, we can go further in helping people understand the potential risks when buying a new home.

“We’re building a future where everyone has access to information about their natural hazard risks at their fingertips, so they can make informed and risk-based decisions about where they chose to live.”

About the Natural Hazards Commission Toka Tū Ake

The Natural Hazards Commission Toka Tū Ake exists to help New Zealanders prepare for and recover from the impact of natural hazards. One of the ways we do this is by providing natural hazards insurance for homes and residential land. 

Homeowners have access to our scheme if they have an insurance policy with fire cover. The premium paid to insurers includes a Natural Hazards Insurance Levy, which is the amount homeowners pay for this cover.  

You can find out more about Natural Hazards Cover/NHCover 

You can also read more about the annual investment in research and resilience through regular updates here