By Jonathan Groves, CEO and Managing Director, QBE Insurance New Zealand and Pacific
Historically, insurance has enabled recovery after an event. That role remains critical. But as Circle Partner, QBE Pacific CEO Jonathan Groves has consistently said, the most valuable dollar in the system is not the one spent on recovery, but the one invested ahead of the event. That thinking is reshaping how insurers like QBE approach their role. Read Jonathan’s full Circle Partner Perspective below.
While paying claims is at the heart of what we do, it’s also about supporting individuals, businesses and governments to better understand risk and make decisions that strengthen resilience before the next event hits. In practical terms, that means helping customers reduce loss, not simply recover from it.
This applies at every level - from households making practical changes to reduce vulnerability, to organisations embedding resilience into planning and investment decisions. It also requires collaboration with councils and the public sector, recognising that many risks sit within shared systems no single organisation can address alone.
In New Zealand, QBE’s Rebuild Resilient cover is a practical example of this shift. Rather than automatically reinstating a property on a like‑for‑like basis after certain weather events, it supports targeted upgrades as part of recovery- such as improved drainage, raised floor levels or more flood‑resilient materials - based on claims experience and hazard data.
The impact is twofold: customers recover stronger, and future loss could be less frequent or severe. Over time, this may help break the cycle of repeat damage improving outcomes for customers and communities, while contributing to a more stable insurance system.
This is about changing risk. Recovery becomes a moment to reduce vulnerability supporting long‑term affordability and availability, while delivering real value for customers.
Rebuild Resilient is grounded in clear insight from QBE’s global research and claims experience: resilience is cumulative. Modest actions, layered across properties, communities and regions, materially improve outcomes over time.
This same logic applies to natural infrastructure. Wetlands, forests, floodplains and coastal systems already act as shock absorbers—slowing water, stabilising land and reducing the severity of events. When these systems are degraded, events unfold faster, with greater intensity, and increasing damage.
For insurers, natural infrastructure directly affects exposure, vulnerability and therefore risk. Where it is intact or restored, losses tend to be less severe making it not just environmentally important, but economically relevant. Investing capital in strengthening natural systems is more effective than repeatedly funding recovery after avoidable loss, particularly as these systems can improve over time rather than degrade.
This matters for the long‑term affordability and availability of insurance. More stable risk outcomes support stronger economic resilience and growth. But natural infrastructure cannot be funded by one group alone—it requires partnership across public and private sectors, alongside communities and iwi, working from shared evidence and incentives.
This is also influencing how insurers think about the role they have. Through the QBE Foundation, we are providing support and mitigation options for communities to become more resilient and prepared for climate impacts, helping to enable a more resilient future.
New Zealand provides a powerful environment to test what works in reducing risk. Climate risk, land‑use decisions and infrastructure pressure are already shaping outcomes on the ground, creating a strong case for approaches that actively reduce risk over time. By using recovery to inform better rebuilding, investing in natural infrastructure, and directing capital toward prevention, Aotearoa can help show how risk can be lowered benefiting communities, the economy and the insurance system alike.
Insurance will always be central to recovery. However, resilience is where the system must now move, and insurers have a clear role to play in making that shift real.
