EQC information for January 2018 storm customers

North Island residents with land damage from flooding or slips in the January storm centred in the Kaiaua and Thames coast still have time to lodge a claim with the Earthquake Commission.

Chief Customer Officer Trish Keith says people need to get their claims in by early April, as we have almost reached the three-month claim lodgement deadline that starts from the date that storm damage occurred.

“If your property suffered storm, flooding or landslip damage on 6 or 7 January, and you have fire insurance for home or contents, you can lodge an EQC claim. It is important to bear in mind that the lodgement period is still three months under the current legislation (the Government has signalled a longer claim period but this will not take effect until 2019).

Mrs Keith says that when an event such as the January storm occurs, EQC works with first response agencies such as Civil Defence and local councils to get a picture of how many damaged properties. This helps EQC work how best to support the community, including the logistics of getting EQC people into the area for property assessments.

“We work to determine how many properties are affected, the type and extent of the damage, whether there are vulnerable customers and what further risk there is of damage to people’s sections.

“Each claim is assessed by one of our team and, depending on the type and extent of damage, can also involve geotechnical engineers visiting the property and valuation reports being carried out.

“The more information a customer can provide during the claim process, the more we can understand their requirements and whether their damage is covered under the EQC Act. Even if you don’t have all the information you might eventually need to provide, you should still lodge a claim and we can start the claim process.”

EQC’s approach is to cash settle claims for land damage and it is the homeowner’s responsibility to arrange for the necessary work to clear or repair their land.

“If urgent work needed to be carried out on your property, it’s important that you have records of any receipts to include with your EQC claim, and photos of the damage before and after repair.

“EQC will consider a claim for financial costs involved in clearing your section of debris caused by a landslip or flood and our advice is talk to us before you make any repairs and if you need to lodge a claim.”

EQC’s storm damage factsheet is available at www.eqc.govt.nz/storm-damage and the silt and debris inundation factsheet is at www.eqc.govt.nz/about-eqc/our-publications/factsheets/silt-and-debris-inundation

Claims can be lodged online at www.eqc.govt.nz/claims, via email on info@eqc.govt.nz, or by calling 0800 DAMAGE (0800 326 243).

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