More residents back into their homes in 2014

10 February 2013

More residents back into their homes in 2014

Southern Response has released January figures on the Southern Response website today that show that 2,783 claims have been settled to date and another 3,181 claims are being worked on.

Southern Response CEO Peter Rose said “January was a short month but we still settled 53 claims, completing 25 houses. This will ramp up during 2014. During January 373 houses were under construction or being rebuilt, and 2,257 were in design with site considerations being reviewed, geotechnical, engineers, planning, design underway. This will be a big year for Christchurch and Canterbury and we will continue to play our part in the rebuild and getting residents into their homes.”

“The actual rebuild had to wait for the earthquakes to settle down, and for CERA land zoning, EQC drilling and land issues to be resolved leaving all insurance companies waiting. So the actual building time is a lot less than the three years since February 2011.”

Southern Response aims to resolve 90% of their claims by the end of 2016.

“We always look at complaints and issues raised with us, but the majority of claims are being managed through the system. If anyone feels their claim or their case is not being resolved properly they should contact us. There are also dispute services like the Residential Advisory Service, which we support as an independent advocacy service for our customers to access at no cost to them,” said Peter Rose.

The attached background statement is being issued to other industry participants to keep them informed of Southern Response’s approach.

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About Residential Advisory Service

The Residential Advisory Service (RAS) provides free, independent help to residential property owners who are facing challenges in getting their home repaired or rebuilt after it has been damaged by the Canterbury earthquakes. They assist those who may face challenges and who feel their claim has stalled and require assurance, validation or clarification of their insurance situation. They also assist property owners through their repair/rebuild or resettlement process. If you would like further advice, please call 0800 777 299 or visit www.advisory.org.nz.

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