Category: Business

Source: Radio New Zealand

Renewables advocates claim it’s “madness” that thousands of new piped gas connections are being installed into houses every year, despite dwindling supply.

Organisations pushing for the country to electrify say households will face steeply rising bills in the short term and huge costs when they eventually need to switch.

They say the country’s declining natural gas supply should be saved as much as possible for manufacturers and other businesses, who are facing a costly and disorderly transition away from fossil fuels.

One advocate says, instead of banning new connections, an education campaign combined with a proposed financing scheme to help households switch to electric would be a better choice.

Data from the gas registry shows the overall number of ‘active’ gas connections has dropped and the rate of new connections has slowed.

However, new connections are still proceeding – more than 2000 were added in the last year, at a rate of nearly 200 a month.

Electrification non-profit Rewiring Aotearoa estimated another 300,000 households may use liquid petroleum gas (LPG) bottles for some form of cooking or heating.

No public data existed on the number of households using LPG, but the overall volume of LPG powering household cooking appliances, gas water heaters and heating went up nine percent between 2017-23, the most recent year of data.

The largest gas retailer in the country, Genesis, stopped accepting new piped connections last year.

But some retailers still offered gas-only connections, and Auckland network owner and distributor Vector said it would still allow new connections, if customers paid the full commissioning cost – usually about $2000.

The company, which had 120,000 residential connections on its gas network, forecasted earlier this month that it would have no new customers from 2029.

However, chief public policy and regulatory officer Mark Toner said it was “important to maintain that customer choice”.

“Some of the research shows that people really love infinity hot water, never-ending hot water,” he said. “They love cooking with gas hobs.”

Toner said he used gas at home himself and had recently replaced a gas hotwater heater with another one.

He acknowledged the long-term future of gas in New Zealand was “highly uncertain”, but customers could continue to have confidence in supply for now.

“There has been a lot of commentary about the state of natural gas in New Zealand,” he said. “There is no prospect of residential customers running out of gas any time soon.”

Green Building Council chief executive Andrew Eagles said the fact that new connections were still going in – even if that number was declining – was “absolute madness”.

The council published a report earlier this year looking at how much natural gas and LPG could be saved for industrial processes, if gas heating in homes and buildings were replaced with electric heat pumps.

“The amount that we need for manufacturing and industry is exactly the amount that homes and buildings will be using in 2035,” Eagles said.

“You’ve got firms that are closing or firing people, and down the road, you’ve got people connecting new gas, when it’s going to be significantly cheaper for that household to electrify their home.”

Retail gas prices had increased markedly and there was no indication that would change, he said.

Rewiring Aotearoa chief executive Mike Casey said that message was not filtering through to many homeowners.

“It’s preference, plus a very serious lack of knowledge around the energy future for this country.”

Similarly, developers were encouraged to build and sell houses as cheaply as possible at the moment, he said.

“Avoiding any form of capex cost is a way to do that, so installing a $2000 gas califont, instead of an $8000 hot water heat pump matches what they’re incentivised to do, which is to sell turn-key solution houses at the cheapest price possible.”

All that did, he said, was “shift the economic burden onto the person who will live in that household”.

People love gas, but it was unhealthy, increasingly expensive and the arguments for it no longer held up, Casey said.

“They talk about instant and infinite hot water, but hotwater heat pumps can provide that same outcome now electrically.

“People say they love cooking with gas, but I think anyone who moves to induction likes induction more.”

Homeowner who wants out

When Pip Gay, 71, and her husband moved into their house in Auckland 26 years ago, the water heating, heaters, oven and stove were all gas.

Over time, as appliances have reached the end of their lives, they’ve switched almost everything to electric – except the gas hobs on a large kitchen range.

“That is wildly inefficient and uneconomic, because of the monthly line charge and the tiny amount of gas we use.”

Just having the connection now costs more than $70 a month, while the gas itself is only about $3.

Gay said she’d be very happy to eliminate gas altogether.

“It’s terrible pumping that gas out from where it’s quite happy under the sea and piping it all the way up the country, and forcing it into our houses and then burning it – it’s a bit bizarre, really.”

The upfront cost of replacing the range – which she loved – was prohibitive.

“If a young family bought this house, it’s probably the first thing they’d do, because they’d hopefully be looking at staying here for a good long spell, just like we have – but I don’t feel like doing it at the end of our run.”

The same reasoning had also put them off installing solar panels – another thing they would have liked to do.

“I wish we’d done it five years ago.”

Her example illustrated the plight of many households who could see the benefit of switching to electric or installing solar, but either could not afford the upfront cost or were running out of runway to make it worth it, Casey said.

The cost of decommissioning gas, once it was connected, could become a further disincentive.

“You often hear stories of people being charged $2000 for a disconnection, but that involves digging up all the pipes,” he said. “It should be no more than the labour cost of getting the guy around to cap the pipe.”

Toner confirmed a current charge of $2500 for full decommissioning, but said capping the pipe was also an option, at a cost of a few hundred dollars.

“If you’re doing works on property and earthworks in particular, you would want a full disconnection at the street to make the site safe,” he said. “If you’ve simply replaced an appliance in your house, it would be a very sensible option just to cap and remove the meter.”

‘Running out of gas’

Earlier this year, the government rolled back the previous ban on new oil and gas exploration, and set aside $200 million as a ‘co-investment’ to encourage development of new fields, recently extending that to include new drilling in existing fields.

It was also exploring options to import liquified natural gas (LNG) as a back-up option in the meantime – a move that has been widely criticised as expensive and inefficient.

Gentailer Genesis, which has a 46 percent share in the Kupe field, stopped accepting new household gas connections last year.

Chief revenue officer Stephen England-Hall said the decision was made “once the national gas supply began to decline faster than was expected”.

“The thought then was, how do we prioritise existing customers on the gas network and also electricity generation, and not necessarily prioritise new connections to an infrastructure that is clearly going to come under stress?”

While the decision was partly driven by economics, it was also “better for the environment and everybody”, England-Hall said.

“One of the things we’re very focused on is how do we help customers electrify as much of their lifestyle as they can? Fundamentally, electricity is a very, very efficient and very cost-effective type of energy.”

Even so, Genesis had not ruled out accepting new customers again, if future supply became more certain – but the data “continues to show signs of decline”, he said.

“We’re not seeing any major new finds occurring and we’re not seeing major new drilling investment occurring that would give us confidence that there’s going to suddenly be a big supply of new gas in the New Zealand market.”

Importing LNG was “technically viable”, he said. “What we are very interested in around that discussion is at what cost?”

Eagles described the search for new gas as “a strategy of hope”.

“[Companies] have spent billions of dollars searching and the massive amount of territory they’ve still been able to search over the last 20 years has not found anything,” he said. “We are running out of gas.”

Alternatives like biogas offered false hope, because it was still mostly fossil gas, he said.

Financing transition

Even if new natural gas was found, it would take 12-14 years to bring online – time and money that Eagles said would be better spent electrifying the country.

“If you look at the state of Victoria in Australia, they’ve said all new builds will be all-electric… and at end-of-life for existing homes, you need to move to electric systems.”

More than 60,000 households had taken up hotwater heat pump support packages in Victoria, since the policy was introduced in 2024.

Similar policies were needed here, he said.

“The poor and people who can’t move are going to be stuck with unhealthy, massively rising costs on a network that has less and less people.”

Energy Minister Simon Watts said there was “not a clear case for further subsidies at this time in the residential gas market”.

The Warmer Kiwi Homes programme had provided subsidies for heat pumps for many years, he said.

“In addition, most major banks in New Zealand provide low-rate loans for households who are installing renewable energy or switching their appliances to more energy-efficient options.”

There was no need to intervene in the residential gas market to “limit consumer choice”, Watts said.

“With new builds, data shows the rate of new connections has been declining and I understand that only one gas retailer is offering new connections where existing infrastructure is not in place.”

Ending gas connections for existing homes would impose extra costs for households, and the government had “a clear plan” to improve gas supply through encouraging exploration and procuring an LNG import facility.

Casey said simply banning new gas connections was likely to create “an allergic reaction”.

“We saw it happen in America, when the Biden administration… tried to ban gas cooktops and you literally had celebrity chefs handcuffing themselves to their stovetops, saying ‘Over my dead body’.

Finance was the solution, but the switch could happen without subsidies, Casey said.

His organisation supported a Local Government New Zealand business case to develop a ratepayers’ assistance scheme, funded by capital raised by councils.

The scheme would offer long-term, flexible loans to anyone who wanted to make renewable upgrades to their property.

“Most New Zealanders can’t access [bank] loans – pensioners, renters, and also those who are struggling to make ends meet and struggling to pay off the mortgage.”

The scheme would fund electric appliances like heat pumps and hot water heat pumps, switchboard upgrades where needed, solar panels and batteries, Casey said.

Crucially, it would allow homeowners to transfer the remaining portion of the loan when they sold their house – making it a viable option for anyone who might not plan to stay in a property long term.

Watts gave tentative support to the idea earlier this year, and said Local Government New Zealand and the Local Government Funding Agency were currently revising the business case.

“I understand they have taken a few additional months to get it right and are ready to present it to me shortly.”

Once he received it, he would consider it alongside official advice and expected to make decisions in the new year.

“I endorse the efforts made to bring relief to ratepayers, but I will be looking at the proposal closely to understand the mechanics and viability, before sharing any further views.”

Casey said it was positive that the numbers showed people starting to leave the gas network of their own accord, but not all households were in a position to make that choice.

“If we don’t plan for a decommissioning of the gas network, then it’s going to be a chaotic transition, where vulnerable New Zealanders really suffer.”

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– Published by EveningReport.nz and AsiaPacificReport.nz, see: MIL OSI in partnership with Radio New Zealand

Source: Radio New Zealand

A Singaporean fund manager has made its first ever purchase in New Zealand with the $55 million purchase of a large commercial site in Auckland’s Wynyard Quarter.

Property broker JLL said the sale of the 1.7 hectare property to RP Financial was significant for the buyer and Auckland’s fast-growing waterfront precinct, with room for further development.

The leasehold site was within Auckland’s commercial hub and included the 154‑room Travelodge Hotel, the Wynyard Carpark with 385 spaces, a Countdown Metro supermarket, retail and office space, and the NZ Bus depot.

JLL NZ managing director and head of capital markets Todd Lauchlan said the property at 100 Halsey had existing resource consents for up to 88,000 square metres of commercial mixed‑use gross floor area.

“RP Financial were excellent to deal with. Cashed‑up, decisive, and settled quickly and efficiently,” Lauchlan said.

“Their commitment is a strong endorsement of Auckland’s ongoing growth story, and we look forward to supporting their future investments here.”

RP Financial New Zealand country manager Luke Kinney said it was committed to bringing further international capital into the New Zealand market.

“100 Halsey Street offers immediate income diversification and exceptional potential for future growth within the Wynyard precinct,” Kinney said.

“Our plans align with the vision for Wynyard Quarter as a technology‑driven, high‑growth development hub, and we see substantial opportunity ahead.”

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– Published by EveningReport.nz and AsiaPacificReport.nz, see: MIL OSI in partnership with Radio New Zealand

Source: Radio New Zealand

ASB has become the latest bank to trim its commission offer to mortgage advisers.

Glen McLeod, of Link Advisory, said it was disappointing the bank had advised mortgage brokers that they would not be paid trail commission on new lending after next July.

“Trail commission is vital because it funds ongoing advice for homeowners, support that helps Kiwis manage debt effectively and make informed decisions. Removing this remuneration risks reducing access to advice and pushes the industry toward a transactional model, which is not in the best interests of clients.

“Lenders are asking advisers to continue providing ongoing service without remuneration, which undermines adviser sustainability and client support. We are advocating for solutions that maintain adviser viability and ensure Kiwis can access quality advice.

“While some suggest a fee-for-service model, we believe this would significantly reduce access to financial advice for many New Zealanders, worsening financial literacy and increasing vulnerability. As an industry, we must collectively promote accessible advice to help Kiwis understand their financial position and plan for long-term financial freedom.”

The bank will no longer offer its AIA Go Home Loan product to new customers.

Earlier this year, Westpac said it would no longer offer trail commissions on new loans.

Jax Mitchell, ASB general manager of wealth, insurance and partnerships said the bank was in talks with AIA NZ and NZHL advice groups about changes to legacy home loan products offered by their advisers.

“This is part of our broader simplification programme of work happening across the bank designed to reduce system and operational complexity and respond more quickly to evolving customer needs. As part of these discussions, AIA NZ and NZHL are considering adopting our standard home loan offering for mortgage advisers as it makes sense for us to have a consistent adviser proposition. We’re working closely with AIA NZ and NZHL and their mortgage advisers and will continue to do so during the transition.”

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– Published by EveningReport.nz and AsiaPacificReport.nz, see: MIL OSI in partnership with Radio New Zealand

Source: Radio New Zealand

• RBNZ eases capital requirements on banks
• New settings to reduce bank funding costs overall by about $5 bn
• RBNZ says settings conservative but closer to global standards
• Changes likely to benefit smaller banks, improve competition
• Banks will be expected to pass on savings.

The Reserve Bank has reduced the amount of capital that banks will need to hold in case of financial shocks, which it says will improve competition and lower costs.

The central bank has followed through on a preliminary report and decided to lower the overall amount of capital that will need to be held, while they will have to hold lesser assets to absorb any losses.

RBNZ chair Rodger Finlay said the environment had changed since it brought in the current settings in 2019, including the introduction of the Depositor Compensation Scheme, and more intensive supervision of the sector.

“This led us to ease common equity requirements across the system by around $5 billion compared to current levels, while still remaining confident in our system resilience.”

He said the settings for the big four Australian owned banks was now closer to what occurred in Australia, while the risk weightings for various types of lending has been refined, and the range of assets used for reserves has been simplified.

Pass on the savings

RBNZ Governor Anna Breman said small and medium sized banks should benefit, but warned banks to pass on the savings.

“These new settings will reduce the overall cost of deposit takers’ funding, which we expect to see passed on as benefits to New Zealanders through increased lending and reduced rates, which we will monitor closely.”

“Small and mid-sized deposit takers should see a proportionately larger reduction than the four large banks, which should allow them to grow and compete more effectively.”

The current capital levels, strongly backed by former Governor Adrian Orr, were blamed as stifling competition by hurting small players, holding back innovation, and holding up interest rates, provoking industry, regulator, and political criticism.

Out with the old

The current capital levels, strongly backed by former Governor Adrian Orr, were blamed as stifling competition by hurting small players, holding back innovation, and holding up interest rates, provoking industry, regulator, and political criticism.

The big four banks will have to have a base capital level of 12 percent, secondary capital, and extra finance assets acting like a shock absorber, bringing the total level to 21 percent by 2031.

Mid-sized institutions will have to have 14 percent capital levels, and the smallest 13 percent.

Although the savings will be in the billions, which RBNZ officials previously said would be material, they had also expected the overall effect to be modest.

Different types of lending – residential mortgages, business loans, farm finance – would continue to be assessed with differing levels of risk, but the amount of capital needed to back them would be reduced.

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– Published by EveningReport.nz and AsiaPacificReport.nz, see: MIL OSI in partnership with Radio New Zealand

Source: Radio New Zealand

A leading financial research firm says KiwiSaver investors should focus on long-term savings goals, rather than seek short-term gains on speculative investments.

The end of year is often a time when investors reviewed the performance of their KiwiSaver and looked to make any adjustments.

Morningstar’s Australasian data director Greg Bunkall said the most important consideration was whether a KiwiSaver portfolio suited an individual’s investment horizon, whether it be saving for retirement or buying a first home.

When it comes to the markets, he said no one knows what’s going to happen in the short-term.

“The good thing about KiwiSaver is that it’s a retirement product, which means for the majority of people, they won’t be needing it in the very near term,” he said.

“So whatever happens next year won’t have a massive bearing on their outcomes.”

Bunkall said a financial advisor could help investors choose the right sort of plan, or they could check-out the sorted.org.nz website, which offered a number of tools to help investors decide for themselves.

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– Published by EveningReport.nz and AsiaPacificReport.nz, see: MIL OSI in partnership with Radio New Zealand

Source: Radio New Zealand

Logistics company Freightways is expanding in Australia after agreeing to buy Melbourne-based VT Freight Express for A$71 million (NZ$81.4m).

VT Freight Express (VTFE) provides express delivery of parcels and palletised freight specialising in the business market, notably the building, healthcare, retail and plumbing sectors.

Freightways said the acquisition would fit with its existing Allied Express business in Australia which operates in the consumer delivery sector. It expects the acquisition to bring savings between both businesses.

“The VTFE business operates an asset light model using a contractor fleet and leased facilities, which is similar to Allied Express and other Freightways businesses.”

Freightways will fund the acquisition through existing and new bank borrowing, and the transaction is expected to be settled early next year.

VTFE had annual revenues of A$77 million in the year-ended October, and Freightways expects the acquisition to increase earnings-per-share by 6 percent in its first year.

Freightways said the acquisition was part of its strategy to expand into business services in Australia, bringing efficiencies with its existing Allied Express business and Freightways’ own core capabilities of express pick up, processing and delivery.

Freightways will operate VTFE as a separate brand, maintaining its own leadership and sharing resources with its parent where possible.

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Source: Radio New Zealand

Explainer – In a flurry of last-minute activity before the holidays, Parliament has approved changes to the foreign buyers ban that has been in place for the last seven years.

The changes will allow “golden visa” investors to purchase a home in New Zealand – but there’s a catch. They’ve got to spend at least $5 million on buying or building a home, as well as committing to other contributions to the economy.

So, can foreign buyers once again buy houses here?

Only some of them with pretty deep pockets. The $5 million minimum purchase requirement will keep buyers to pretty small numbers, and they also have to meet other “golden visa” investor requirements.

“If a migrant invests a minimum of $5 million to help grow the economy, passes a good character test, and has acceptable health, they will now be able to buy or build a home,” Immigration Minister Erica Stanford said while announcing the passage.

The change will take effect in early 2026.

Cotality NZ chief property economist Kelvin Davidson told RNZ’s Afternoons the change is quite specifically focused.

“Generally, it’s not an easing of the foreign buyer ban. The foreign buyer ban is as it’s always been. This is actually a different visa category that’s being talked about.”

The foreign buyers ban was passed by the then-Labour-led coalition government in 2018. Figures at the time showed up to 20 percent of homes in some of Auckland’s most expensive suburbs were being sold to foreign buyers.

The only people who will be allowed exemptions are those wealthy investors who are already committed to growing New Zealand’s economy.

“It’s a happy compromise,” Prime Minister Christopher Luxon said in announcing the changes earlier this year.

“We’re doing everything to make sure that it’s not just frothy speculative… driving a property market. It’s actually genuinely about supporting more investment which drives more jobs.”

How is the government trying to bring in foreign investors?

This is all part of the government’s broader goals to attract more overseas investment into New Zealand.

Earlier this year, the government announced a new “golden visa” for investors, the Active Investor Plus, which introduced two simplified investment categories – Growth, requiring a minimum $5 million investment for a minimum of three years, and Balanced, which requires a minimum $10 million investment over five years.

As of 15 December, Immigration New Zealand data shows there had been 491 golden visa applications, covering 1571 people, representing a potential minimum investment of $2.9 billion.

The foreign buyer changes are included in the overall passage of the Overseas Investment (National Interest Test and Other Matters) Amendment Bill, which also now says that overseas investment decisions must be made within 15 working days.

“Under the new law, decisions on all investments except residential land, farmland and fishing quota must be made within 15 working days, unless there is a potential national interest concern,” Associate Finance Minister David Seymour said in announcing the passage. “That compares with a 70-day statutory timeframe for the current benefit test.”

So, how many houses would this actually affect?

“The scale of potential foreign investment is pretty small, really,” Davidson said.

“The number of properties that are valued at $5 million or above, which is where these people will be able to purchase, it’s about sort of 5- or 6000 across the country as a whole.”

Rural, farm and “sensitive” land is also excluded.

Davidson said that represents less than 0.5 percent of the housing stock, “mostly focused on parts of Auckland and parts of Queenstown.”

“Of course, for buyers to actually come to buy these properties, they have to be for sale in the first place. There might only be a few hundred transactions a year in that price bracket.”

Stanford has said the change meant to show that New Zealand is “open for business”.

“New investors don’t just bring their capital, they bring skills, knowledge and experience that will drive future economic development,” she said.

Wasn’t this passed rather quickly?

Yes, it was passed late Friday night along with many other bills as Parliament sat in urgency.

Changes were introduced in an amendment paper to the Overseas Investment (National Interest Test and Other Matters) Amendment Bill.

As the bill had already been through select committee, that means the public didn’t get a chance to give feedback on the softening of the foreign buyers ban through typical parliamentary processes.

The real estate news website OneRoof reported that some agents were surprised by how quickly the changes were passed, although Seymour had previously said the changes would come before the end of the year and “be law before New Year’s Eve”.

So, is this a controversial change?

“I think this is a fairly non-controversial sort of policy,” Davidson said.

The intent is that investors are meant to come here and buy one home to live in for their own use.

“It’s not a price bracket where the average home buyer in New Zealand would really be even thinking about.”

The average house price in New Zealand sits closer to $800,000.

The Real Estate Institute of New Zealand said it welcomed the change.

“REINZ and our members support sensible reform that reduces unnecessary barriers while maintaining safeguards for sensitive assets,” it said in a statement.

National campaigned in 2023 on letting foreigners buy homes worth more than $2m subject to a 15 percent tax, but was forced to abandon that plan during coalition negotiations with NZ First.

Peters, who helped introduce the foreign buyers ban in the first place in 2018, supports the change that he called a “very, very minor” one.

He told RNZ earlier that the original foreign buyer ban was introduced in the context of “rampant” house-flipping and “serious duplicity and cheating” by some foreigners who had been “using this country as a bolt-hole”.

“That’s why the total ban happened, and this very, very, very minor adjustment will attend to the benefits of the investor.”

Davidson said that he felt overall the changes to foreign buyer restrictions could help boost investment.

“I think there’s wider positive benefits from this. It’s always seemed a little bit odd that the government’s been trying to attract foreign capital to New Zealand but not allowing those people to buy a house.”

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– Published by EveningReport.nz and AsiaPacificReport.nz, see: MIL OSI in partnership with Radio New Zealand

Source: Radio New Zealand

The holiday season appears to have boosted the spirits of consumers with household confidence on the rise.

The Westpac-McDermott Miller Consumer Confidence Index rose 5.6 points in December to 96.5.

While the reading was a little below long-run averages, it was the highest level of confidence seen this year.

Men were more optimistic at a positive 102.6 points, while women remained pessimistic at 90.6 points.

An index number over 100 indicates that optimists outnumber pessimists.

“Since our last survey, confidence has taken a step higher in most parts of the country, and spending appetites have also firmed,” Westpac senior economist Satish Ranchhod said.

Spending remained strongest in the lower South Island, but was picking up in other regions.

“That includes Auckland, which is now the most upbeat part of the country.”

Ranchhod said a drop in mortgage interest rates was playing a big part in the improved confidence.

“Increasing numbers of borrowers have been rolling on to lower interest rates. That process will continue into the new year and will help to boost households’ disposable incomes right across the country.

“Importantly, while we have seen some upwards pressure on borrowing rates recently, most borrowers who are refixing now will still be rolling onto much lower rates.”

Still, the cost of living remained a major concern, as well as the soft labour market.

“Those challenges will be with us for a while yet. However, we’re starting to see some more encouraging signs in the economy, and hopefully 2026 will be a more positive year for most New Zealand households,” he said.

McDermott Miller market research director Imogen Rendall said nearly half of women surveyed believed they were worse off financially than a year ago, compared with a third of men.

“Looking ahead to next year, both men and women have broadly similar expectations for their personal finances,” Rendall said.

Men, however, are more optimistic than women about New Zealand’s short-term economic future, as well as the country’s longer-term prospects.

“Confidence amongst younger age groups is relatively buoyant, particularly in contrast to older New Zealanders.”

She said people with a job were optimistic, with confidence up 6.4 points this quarter up to 104.7.

“Those not in paid work experienced the same lift in confidence this quarter, but they are still firmly pessimistic at 86.7,” Rendall said.

“Just under a quarter of those in paid work feel they are better off financially now than a year ago, compared to fewer than one in 10 of those who are not in paid work.”

The survey was conducted over 1-11 December 2025, with a sample size of 1550 and a 2.5 percent margin of error.

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– Published by EveningReport.nz and AsiaPacificReport.nz, see: MIL OSI in partnership with Radio New Zealand

Source: Radio New Zealand

A travel insurance claim that is likely to top $4 million is an example of how expensive an overseas trip can be, Southern Cross Travel Insurance says.

It has released a wrap of the year, which shows the value of claims made increased a lot over recent years even as the level of cover being taken has dropped.

Chief customer officer Jess Strange said the biggest driver of claims was health events.

“People travelling overseas to certain countries… the US, for example, is quite a shocker for large health claims.”

The insurer paid more than $7.3m for medical and evacuation claims in the year to 30 November.

That covered 3350 claims.

It paid $220,000 to one person who claimed for a Covid-related illness while in Singapore. Another person claimed $642,000 for an illness in Italy. Another claim was $95,000 for a fractured hip in India.

Strange said an even bigger claim, still in progress, was for a premature baby born in the United States.

“It’s projected to be around $4 million in cost for a premature baby who has been born unexpectedly overseas.

“The US is by far and away the most expensive country but unfortunately when you’re out of your home territory it’s hard to control the costs that some of these hospitals will charge. The costs can kind of skyrocket before you know it.”

She said cruises could also be very expensive because there was no set limit on what people could be charged.

“People often think ‘oh it’s a lost bag or a cancelled flight or a dropped iPhone’, they don’t think how terrifying it can be, both from a health and cost perspective, if something happens to you medically overseas.

“Every day we see the most traumatising things happen to customers, which is heartbreaking. That poor family at the moment stuck with a premature baby, imagine if they were facing down the line of a $4 million US medical bill.”

But she said even as claims were increasing, people were taking out less cover. The proportion of travellers not taking insurance had lifted from 15 percent in December last year to 20 percent in October and 19 percent in November.

“Kiwis love to travel but travel insurance is often the last thing they think about or they are not educated enough to know they should purchase it at the time of purchasing their travel.”

Southern Cross had a big increase in claims for trips and falls, with more than $988,000 paid in claims compared to $537,000 in 2023.

There was also $1.3m paid to support customers with gastro illness.

In the last financial year, to 30 June, it paid $48.4m in travel insurance claims, up from $43.2m the same time a year earlier.

It said it was paying three times as many flu-related claims as in 2023.

It also paid $248,000 for rental vehicle claims, or about $1533 per claim.

It said 66 percent of international travellers purchased some form of travel insurance cover, another 19 percent had no cover at all and 17 percent relied on credit card insurance.

The percentage purchasing was highest among those aged 18 to 29.

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– Published by EveningReport.nz and AsiaPacificReport.nz, see: MIL OSI in partnership with Radio New Zealand

Source: Radio New Zealand

Shoppers from as far away as Canterbury and Otago headed to Ikea in its first week of operation.

Dot Loves Data has used insights from ANZ transaction data to show where shoppers in the Sylvia Park shopping precinct – which includes Ikea – are coming from.

Director Justin Lester said it confirmed that it was a magnet for visitors in its first week.

The number of home and furniture shoppers in the Sylvia Park area coming from Auckland increased 1400 percent. The 1156 who came from Waikato was an increase of 1200 percent. There were even 238 shoppers visiting the area from Canterbury in the week, up 7833 percent and 270 from Wellington, up 3275 percent.

Another 93 came from Otago and 250 from Northland.

“These figures show how nationally significant the IKEA opening has been,” Lester said. “What was interesting to us was people were willing to travel from all over the country… clearly they’re going for the opening. Particularly from Bay of Plenty, Waikato visitation but as far afield as Otago, Canterbury, Wellington as well.

“This level of visitation from around the country is unprecedented for a suburban retail precinct. Ikea has instantly become a key economic drawcard, not just for the Sylvia Park/Mt Wellington precinct, but for Auckland more broadly.”

He said while other homeware retailers could be feeling competitive pressure, Sylvia Park as a whole benefitted from the lift in foot traffic.

“Over time, we expect patterns to stabilise, and many retailers may ultimately gain from the broader uplift in visitation.

“If anything it has to have a cluster effect. There is going to be more people travelling to that area. If you’re deciding I’ll go to Newmarket, I’ll go to the CBD, Albany, wherever it might be – if you want something you’re more likely to go to Sylvia Park. Given the nature of Auckland, once you’re there you’re more likely to go across to the mall and shop there too.”

Lester said the retail sector would find a new norm. “The Warehouse was a massive threat to everybody, they were a big threat to Briscoes, but Briscoes thrived. Kmart was almost dead in the 90s and had a resurgence. They’ve found their niche, they know what they are and they do it really well.

“Ikea is only one store at the moment but they’re popular and they will do well.”

Chris Wilkinson, a retail consultant at First Retail Group, said it was expected that Ikea would lift the category more generally. Spending on department stores and leisure had lifted 16.7 percent in the week, and in Auckland it was up 35.1 percent.

“Ikea’s ability to open people’s wallets would have been good for retail as once they are open, they typically stay that way. This year’s more diffused Black Friday didn’t punctuate the season as expected because the start was less defined and the offers seemed to last a while. There was less call to action which didn’t drive excitement like it had done previously.

“But, there are some encouraging signs and retail has had a very busy weekend, so there’s definitely plenty of action happening. Trends from the past week are that footfall – people coming into stores – is down across most centres, but average transaction values are up marginally. The key period is ahead and we think it will be positive as there’s like some pent-up demand out there.”

Lester said there had been good levels of growth in domestic online shopping.

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– Published by EveningReport.nz and AsiaPacificReport.nz, see: MIL OSI in partnership with Radio New Zealand