Ministerial Advisor Report update
Background
Earlier this year, Independent Ministerial Advisor (IMA), Christine Stevenson, was appointed to lead a team of senior officials who would work with the EQC Board and Management to gain insight into EQC operations, and provide advice to the Minister Responsible for the Earthquake Commission.
The IMA team was tasked with reporting on operational changes needed to resolve residual Canterbury claims in a timely, cost effective and professional way.
Their report, released on 6 June 2018, made 28 recommendations. 17 of the recommendations required EQC to lead and implement them, five required our support, and six are being led externally, with EQC observing progress. The Board and management of EQC endorsed and accepted all recommendations in the IMA report.
In July 2018, we commissioned KPMG to undertake an independent review of our progress against the implementation of the recommendations. The final report was received in November 2018.
KPMG found that all recommendations have been actioned, and are either fully addressed, or have ongoing activities in progress. A copy of the full report is attached.
Progress since the report was finalised
KPMG completed their review of implementation in September. Since then, we have made further progress with a number of initiatives.
The Claimant Reference Group is now fully established and meeting regularly to generate ideas about areas we can improve, test improvements, and liaise with our team to monitor and communicate progress.
The case management model is now embedded and is delivering tangible results for customers through increased claims settlement rates, with a particular focus on aged claims.
A test case, which we believe has the best prospect of determining liability in relation to onsold overcap properties, has been identified and is expected to be heard in August 2019.
We will continue to focus on improving the experience for Canterbury customers, both through ongoing implementation of the IMA recommendations, as well as development of new initiatives as required to speed up the resolution of claims.
You can download the KPMG report here [PDF, 3 MB].
