CRrime rates may be dropping but the cost of crime is increasing - and so will insurance premiums.
Direct insurance claims resulting from criminal activity were estimated to be worth more than $250 million each year - and rising.
However, last week New Zealand Police released the fiscal year crime statistics, which showed the country's recorded crime dropped 5.2% when compared with the corresponding period last year.
That drop of more than 21,000 offences led to New Zealand having the lowest number of offences in any fiscal year since 1988-89.
"These figures indicate that New Zealand is becoming a safer place to live," Deputy Police Commissioner Viv Rickard said.
Despite that drop, people should not be expecting a decrease in their insurance premiums, Insurance Council of New Zealand chief executive Chris Ryan said.
"Premiums will rise, because the cost of insurance is going up."
Mr Ryan said the Christchurch earthquakes were a big factor in increased insurance premiums, but the value of goods being targeted by thieves was also a factor.
He cited smartphones, computers and video games as being favourite targets, which in turn attracted price tags to match.
The cost of crime in New Zealand was estimated to be a quarter of a billion dollars, "and that would be a very conservative estimate and does not include things like fraud".
Nor does it include those people who were not insured, and the estimated 30% who did not have full insurance cover.
The cost of crime was expected to "rise fairly dramatically", when the council conducted its next survey with insurance companies, he said.
Domestic issues such as increasing or decreasing crime rates tended not to affect insurance premiums, but the same could not be said for major events, Mr Ryan said.
"New Zealand is such a small market in terms of insurance. Nearly all our cover for insurance comes from international reinsurers.
"It is only when you get for example the earthquakes when you get a $20 billion event ... that moves insurance premiums."
"Whether you live in Dunedin or Auckland, for a reinsurance person looking at the risk of earthquakes, tsunami and even volcano in Auckland ... New Zealand is seen as as single-risk country.
"A big event like Christchurch and you see prices rising all over the country ...
and not just Christchurch."
