Cautious Thumbs Up For New Earthquake Claim Arrangements

An insurance advocate who has worked with hundreds of Canterbury Earthquake insurance claimants says having homeowners dealing with their insurance company to resolve their house claim and not EQC, is a positive change however sounds a word of warning.

“Some insurers have performed well but a number of insurers have not performed satisfactorily and some are still not doing what they should,” says Dean Lester.

Lester says while it is positive to remove the double handling that many experienced following the Canterbury shakes, there is more to improving the process than removing EQC.

“We are continuing to see delays and poor communication in many claims that remain unresolved,” he says. “Over the last five or six years, there are a number of areas in which Insurance Companies could and should have performed better including drafting accurate scopes of work, and providing correct and reasonable figures relating to the repairing and reinstating homes which is so important in reaching a cash settlement agreement.”

Dean Lester says he is pleased to hear the Insurance Council talk about speedier settlement which will be helped by not having a policy entitlement muddied by EQC’s interpretation of entitlement. w that relates to the insurance policy, having people managing claims (especially repair and rebuilds) who are insurance specialists not Project Managers (builders) and finally, far better communication.

“One area of improved communication needs to be around emergency repairs. I am working with a couple of homeowners in Kaikoura at the moment who were unaware that if money was spent on their house as an emergency repair, it may well come off their settlement in the washup. That’s just one example,” he says.

Dean Lester’s advice is talk to people who have been through this. Understand what and who you need to help settle your claim quickly because that is one of the key things in getting lives and communities back on track as soon as possible.

A Facebook page has been set up where Canterbury people are sharing information with people who have been affected by the recent earthquakes. It’s called “November 2016 Quake: Help, Support and Advice for Homeowners Affected”

https://www.facebook.com/groups/1138675769519719/