Insurers settle record Canterbury claims

10 August 2015

Insurers settle record Canterbury claims

The Insurance Council of New Zealand announced today that private insurers have settled a record number of residential claims in the last quarter since the Canterbury earthquakes in 2010 and 2011.

Insurance Council Chief Executive Tim Grafton says there has been a nearly 40% increase in the last quarter and is the highest number of claims settled of any quarter to date. The value of all residential and commercial claims settled is well over $15 billion.

Private insurers have settled 66%, or over 16,000, over cap residential Canterbury earthquake claims, including over 1,500 in the quarter to 30 June 2015, or equivalent to nearly 17 properties a day.

Insurance Council Chief Executive Tim Grafton says “the pace of settlements has ramped up and the evidence suggests that contrary to recent commentary reported in the media about the rate of recovery, we are continuing to see more residential settlements than ever.

Insurers continue to make a major contribution to Canterbury and the New Zealand economy and are committed to settling the remaining claims as quickly as possible.

At the end of June 2015, there were 24,527 over cap residential claims with 327 transferred from the Earthquake Commission (EQC), taking the total transferred from EQC since January 2015 to 602.

Based on data jointly collected by ICNZ and the Canterbury Earthquake Recovery Authority (CERA), 75% of all over cap residential claims are resolved or have been fully settled. Resolved means the repair/rebuild is under construction, in consenting or a building contract has been signed. A further 19% of the 24,527 over cap claims are in resolution, meaning cash settlement is pending or the rebuild/repair is in the pricing and design process.

Grafton says “while cash settlements remains an option for many homeowners, the increase this quarter in settlements is for both cash settlements and rebuilds and repairs. Insurers completed 596 major repairs and rebuilds in the last quarter, bringing the total to 4053 to the end of June 2016.

To date 12,153 over cap claims have been cash settled which has allowed people to buy another home or manage their own rebuild or repair.

The number of customers who are still to receive offers from their private insurer is down to 488 and there are 358 people who have yet to make decisions on the offers they’ve received.

“We’d encourage any customers who are unsure about the offer they’ve received or have yet to make a decision to contact either their insurer or the Residential Advisory Service. The service is cost-free, totally independent and can help provide customers advice and assistance that may help progress their claim,” says Grafton.

ENDS

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