EQC Act changes announced
The Minister Responsible for the Earthquake Commission Dr Megan Woods has today announced changes to the EQC scheme.
These changes include:
- Removing EQC insurance cover for contents.
- Increasing the cap limit on EQC residential building cover to $150,000 (plus GST).
- Enabling EQC to accept claim notifications for up to two years after a natural disaster, rather than the current three-month time limit for such notifications.
- Clarifying EQC’s authority to share information to support the implementation of the EQC Act and settlement of insurance claims and where this is in the public interest and safety (A recommendation of the Canterbury Earthquakes Royal Commission).
The changes will improve how the EQC Act functions and enable the scheme to work more effectively for future natural disasters. The changes simplify and speed up the claims process, and resolve issues with the EQC Act that have previously been identified by the Ombudsman and the Canterbury Earthquakes Royal Commission.
The Minister's media statement is available on the Beehive website.