Faafoi will replace Tim Grafton, who is stepping down in April after leading the representative body for general insurers for almost 12 years – a period that included the Canterbury and Kaikoūra earthquakes, major floods, tornadoes, fires and cyclones.

"I’m delighted we are able to appoint someone of Kris’ calibre who has a track record of demonstrated leadership together with extensive experience and understanding of the machinery of government and the financial sector," the Insurance Council of NZ's (ICNZ) president and IAG NZ chief executive, Amanda Whiting, said.

“I’m looking forward to leading the industry through the next period, focusing on influencing for a sustainable industry, and, more importantly, ensuring that New Zealanders can continue to protect the things they love when disaster strikes," Faafoi said.

There will be a four-week handover period from early March before Faafoi takes on the new role.

Labour party representative Faafoi was first elected in Nov 2010. He has been minister of broadcasting and media, civil defence, commerce and consumer affairs, customs, government digital services, immigration and justice.

He resigned from parliament in mid-2022 to spend more time with family.

Faafoi said it had been a challenging 12 months for insurers. Private insurance claims from the 2023 Auckland Anniversary weekend and Cyclone Gabrielle weather events are the separately two largest insurance weather events in NZ’s history, according to ICNZ.

Insurers have settled 99,798 of 115,353 claims valued at $3.6 billion.