Panel Discussions
#icnzconference2026
Panel 1: Future of Insurance: 9:00am to 9:45am
The future of insurance will be shaped as much by how we reduce and manage risk as by how we price it. The changing climate is increasing the frequency and severity of natural hazards, placing growing pressure on insurance affordability and availability for households, businesses, and communities.
This panel focuses on the role of long term investment in resilience by governments, councils, communities, and the private sector to reduce risk, protect communities, and keep insurance accessible. Held ahead of the Minister of Finance’s address, the discussion sets the scene by exploring how sustained, coordinated action on resilience can support economic stability and consumer protection over the long term.
Click on the speaker’s photo to view their bio.
Rehette Stoltz
Mayor
Gisborne District Council
Hon. Kris Faafoi
Chief Executive
Insurance Council of NZ
Chief Executive
Jon Duffy
Consumer NZ
General Manager:
Climate, Social Policy and International Engagement
Alix Pearce
Insurance Council of Australia
Panel 2: Keeping Insurance in Reach: 1:30pm to 2:15pm
As weather‑related risks intensify, access to insurance plays a critical role in New Zealand’s financial resilience for households, businesses, councils and government alike. When major events strike, insurance helps communities recover faster, reduces pressure on public finances, and supports long‑term economic stability.
This session takes a high‑level look at the importance of keeping insurance within reach as risk, costs and exposure increase. It will explore the factors shaping insurance affordability and availability, how those pressures are evolving across regions and sectors, and why maintaining broad participation in insurance markets matters well beyond individual policyholders.
The discussion will focus on how insurers, governments, councils and communities can collectively support resilience, reduce the insurance protection gap over time, and ensure insurance continues to play its vital role in helping New Zealand adapt to a changing risk environment.
Click on the speaker’s photo to view their bio.
Adam Heath
Chief Executive and Chair
FMG and ICNZ
Shamubeel Eaqub
Chief Economist
Simplicity
Luke Malpass
Politics, Business and Economics Editor
The Post
Alexandra Hordern
General Manager - Regulatory and Consumer Policy
Insurance Council of Australia
Panel 3: Future of Risk: 3:45pm to 4:30pm
This panel explores how infrastructure investment, governance and long-term planning determine New Zealand's future insurability amid climate change and ageing assets.
Drawing on lessons from the 2023 Auckland floods and Cyclone Gabrielle, which revealed infrastructure vulnerabilities that increased losses, the discussion will examine how inadequate stormwater systems, deteriorating flood protection and high-risk development affect reinsurer appetite.
The panel will examine the challenge of long-term decision-making, where infrastructure choices made today will shape insurability for decades to come, and explore how to better align incentives between developers, councils, infrastructure providers and insurers to ensure New Zealand's insurance market remains sustainable and accessible across the country's diverse risk landscape.
Click on the speaker’s photo to view their bio.
Councillor
Auckland City Council
Richard Hills
Chief Executive Officer
Tower Insurance
Paul Johnston
Sector Director -
Finance + Insurance
Tonkin + Taylor
James Russell
Helen O’Sullivan
Chair of Auckland Regional Committee of the Property Council of New Zealand
Simplicity Living