Claimant Reference Group

The Earthquake Commission (EQC) is committed to working with customers and claimant advocates to find the best solutions for outstanding and future EQC claims.

A 2018 Independent Ministerial Advisory Report recommended EQC establish a Claimant Reference Group (the Group), comprised of claimants and community representative advocates who would be paid for their time and expertise and meet EQC senior management regularly.

The Group was established in October 2018 to provide feedback and advice to support improvements in our claims settlement processes.

The Group met monthly and robustly advocated for Canterbury residents and claimants. Drawing on its collective expertise and experience, the Claimant Reference Group provided valuable feedback and input into EQC claims management processes.

The Group’s advice contributed  to key workstreams  that enhanced the claims management process experience for claimants. These included changes to staff training, engineering assessment processes, customer communications and the On-solds programme.

EQC and claimants benefitted from the Group’s input. 

Our work with the Group has also resulted in a better appreciation of the value reference groups can provide across EQC’s broad range of roles and responsibilities.

The work of the Group finished in November 2020, and EQC is in the process of establishing a national reference group to provide representative community input into, and feedback about, the broad range of EQC responsibilities.

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