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Changes to EQC Act under discussion

Author
Newstalk ZB staff,
Publish Date
Tue, 7 Jul 2015, 6:07AM
(supplied)
(supplied)

Changes to EQC Act under discussion

Author
Newstalk ZB staff,
Publish Date
Tue, 7 Jul 2015, 6:07AM

An insurance council appointed working group will meet today to discussed proposed changes to the Earthquake Commission.

Yesterday the Government outlined a list of changes that it is proposing to make to the EQC Act.

The changes would include doubling the cap of building cover to $200,000 and would aim to better integrate the EQC and private insurers' claim handling process.

The proposed claims would also make private insurers the first port of call.

Insurance Council CEO Tim Grafton said by and large the changes are good for both the industry and claimants alike.

"The broad thrust of it is good, it will keep New Zealand well insured for catastrophic events. But it's the tactical matters, some of them detailed there where we've got to do a bit more work."

Canterbury Communities’ Earthquake Recovery Network spokesperson Leanne Curtis hopes that the proposed changes will help clarify the blurry line between EQC and private insurers.

"It has been uncertainty between the two that has caused the trauma for the home owner and it has certainly caused the delays between EQC and insures," she said.

However, Christchurch advocacy group Wider Earthquake Communities Action Network (WeCan) thinks that the proposed changes do not do enough to address the standard of assessments and repairs.

WECAN spokesperson Sarah O'Brien believes that insurers and EQC have to "up the mark" and have "properly trained people" to do structural damage assessments.

O'Brien wants the changes to spell out that repairs need to be to the New Zealand Building Standard, not the MBIE guidelines.

 

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