Insuring the Future: Reimagining Home Insurance in Aotearoa (Paperback) (ISBN-13: 9781776923304)

As the effects of climate change intensify across Aotearoa New Zealand, securing home insurance is no longer a sure thing. Nor is it always affordable. In this clear-eyed work, public policy expert Jonathan Boston tackles one of the defining policy challenges of climate change: how can residential property insurance remain accessible and affordable as climate-intensified risks escalate? Given New Zealand's distinctive natural hazards profile and numerous at-risk communities, small policy changes won't be enough. Sustainable insurance affordability will require a paradigm shift in risk governance, adaptation planning, and property insurance arrangements. We need fair, collective risk-sharing, vigorous risk avoidance, and serious public investment in risk reduction, including planned relocation where long-term protection is neither cost-effective nor feasible. Navigating the stark realities of climate-intensified risks and implementing effective reforms will be challenging. There are powerful political incentives for procrastination and buck-passing. But delay will be costly; poor policy choices likewise. To enable progress, evidence-informed public debate about policy is vital.

Author: Jonathan Boston
ISBN-10: 1776923308
ISBN-13: 9781776923304
Publisher: Te Herenga Waka University Press
Language: English
Published: 06/11/2026
Pages: 240
Format: Paperback