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The Earthquake Commission (EQC) is encouraging homeowners who suffered land damage from the April storm to lodge a claim if they haven’t already.
According to EQC, it received 83 claims arising from the April storm, with 43 claims lodged in the Rotorua district. Additional claims were received from people in the Whangarei, Auckland, Thames-Coromandel and Western Bay of Plenty districts. The storm also caused damage in the South Island with claims lodged in the Timaru, Waitaki and Dunedin City districts.
EQC manager of national customer care Robyn Nation said people whose property suffered storm, flooding or landslip have until the end of July to lodge a claim.
Nation noted the EQC has so far received 1,019 claims for all the storms that have hit the country this year, including ex-cyclones Gita and Fehi. EQC has closed 685 of these claims and paid almost $7,800,000 to customers.
“Unfortunately, it is likely that more storms will cross the country and these could well cause more damage to people’s land,” she said. “Therefore, it is important that homeowners know that EQC is here to help them and they should get in touch with us if their property incurs landslip, storm or flood damage.”
EQC assesses each claim and, depending on the type and extent of damage, it might also get a valuation report and a geotechnical engineer to visit the property. Its approach is to cash settle claims for land damage and it is the homeowner’s responsibility to clear or repair their land.
“In reviewing your claim, EQC may cover the financial cost of clearing your section of debris caused by a landslip or flood,” Nation added. “Talk to us before you incur costs or make any repairs.”
