The Thames Coromandel District Council has urged residents affected by last week’s storm tide to contact the
EQC as well as their private insurers.
“Predicting the exact impact of the storm tide and waves is difficult to quantify with available information, but we knew it would likely impact on low lying coastal areas and information was issued by WRC and councils to that effect,” Waikato Regional Council’s (WRC) Flood Coordinator Rick Liefting said.
“The actual impact of the storm tide surpassed expectations from WRC and councils.
“The water levels recorded at the Tararu Tide Gauge on the Thames coast reached 2.8m, some 1m above a ‘normal’ spring tide. The additional effects of waves along the coast increased the impact on infrastructure and property,” he said.
The council also outlined some tips for people who may be eligible to launch a claim. These include:
- If you have flood damage to the land around your home, including retaining walls that support the land (not walls that are landscape features only) then contact EQC. EQC does not cover flood damage to your house or its contents.
- To get EQC cover, you need to have a home or contents insurance policy that includes fire protection with a private insurance company when the natural disaster damage occurred.
- While it may speed up the process if you make a claim quickly, you have three months from the date of the damage to lodge your claim.
- EQC recommends launching a claim with them at the same time as you lodge a claim with your private insurer.
- You can make a claim online on the EQC website or call EQC on 0800 326 243.
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