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Important information for Canterbury earthquake damage claimants
Important information for Canterbury earthquake damage claimants
Since last Saturday the Earthquake Commission has registered over 44,000 claims for damage to residential property from the Canterbury earthquakes.
"Our immediate priority has been to ensure that we have sufficient resources to lodge these claims and make contact with property owners whose houses were or are uninhabitable or not weatherproof," said EQC's insurance manager, Lance Dixon.
"The sheer demand on our phone lines has meant that many people have had difficulty making contact, either to make a claim or to ask a question of some sort.
"While we are putting information on our website we know that this does not suit many people. We are running some advertising as well."
Common queries EQC has been receiving are as follows:
Once I have lodged my claim what should I receive from EQC?
Once you have lodged a claim with EQC you should receive a letter acknowledging your claim and information about the cover under the Earthquake Commission Act and an outline of the claim process. Due to the large number of letters required it may take a few days for this information to be sent. Please allow 7 days for this information to reach you. If you have not received the information from EQC after 7 days please contact us.
What is happening now?
EQC is now working through the process of inspecting all the properties that were damaged.
We currently have a team of over 60 working through the inspections. We intend to build this team up to over 400 in the coming weeks.
Our initial focus will be on the 5,000 claims where property owners have indicated that their properties were uninhabitable or not weatherproof.
Then our focus will move to claims where structural damage has occurred,
We will also have a team working in parallel fast tracking the settlement of non-structural claims.
What about payment for emergency repairs?
If you have already undertaken emergency repairs and have an invoice for those repairs we would like them to forward the invoice along with the claim number if you know it, the name you lodged the claim under, the damage address, an explanation of the repairs, and any photos you may have taken, to EQC at PO Box 311 Wellington. We will contact you to discuss and endeavour to make payment to your contractor as soon as possible.
What if I have yet to make emergency repairs?
If you need to undertake emergency repairs e.g. to secure your property or fix damaged services, please take a photograph of the damage or damaged items when they are removed. You will need to then authorise a repair and then forward the invoice to EQC at PO Box 311 Wellington with your claim number if you know it, the name you lodged the claim under, the damage address, an explanation of the damage, and the photograph. We will contact you to discuss and endeavour to make payment to your contractor as soon as possible.
What do I do if I have a question about my claim
EQC is building up the numbers of its claim processing staff i.e. is the staff who can answer questions about your claim, as fast as it can. Please note that when someone calls with a query about their claim the staff member who takes it is at present stopped from the task of processing claim payments.
We would ask that if your question is not urgent you email it to claims@eqc.govt.nz. We have a dedicated team answering these questions and we will endeavour to reply to your question within 7 days. If you have an urgent enquiry then please call 0800 DAMAGE to talk to a claims officer.
Many property owners are asking the same questions. We are posting answers to common questions on a special page on our website (www.eqc.govt.nz).
"We recognise that this is a very stressful time for the people of Canterbury and we would like to offer assurances that we are working to settle claims as quickly as possible," Mr Dixon said.
Further information:
Jo Martin Communications Adviser
Phone: (029) 978-6430
(04) 978-6400
Email: info@eqc.govt.nz
Website: www.eqc.govt.nz