Insurers trying to resolve claims
The country’s largest insurer has acknowledged the frustration for homeowners still waiting for their properties to be assessed for damage after last month’s record rainfall.
IAG said its insurance operations, which include State, NZI and AMI, received a total of 2186 claims stemming from the prolonged deluge nearly four weeks ago, 1379 of them in Nelson, Tasman and Marlborough – by 8am yesterday.
Of the 2186 claims, 1675 were for homes, 229 for contents, 96 for vehicles, and 183 for business claims. The total included 619 claims mostly for land damage that the insurer was managing on behalf of EQC.
Sixty-two properties remained red-stickered and 88 yellowstickered in Nelson after days of heavy rain that saw the Maitai River burst its banks in the city, and triggered multiple slips across the region.
One family unable to get back in to start repairing their redstickered home in Nelson told Stuff they feared a slip piled up against the back of their house would cause further damage.
They had been advised by their insurer it could be two months before their house was fully inspected.
IAG executive general manager claims Wayne Tippet said the high volume of claims received, and access issues in some areas meant it could take time for insurance assessors and other experts to inspect all damaged properties.
A number of customers were still not able to access their homes and were not yet sure of the extent of damage, he said.
The insurer’s assessors would inspect those properties ‘‘as soon as it was declared safe to do so by the appropriate authorities’’.
‘‘We know that for many, this will be an unsettling and frustrating time, and we’re working alongside the councils, EQC, Civil Defence, and other insurers to resolve claims for our customers as quickly as possible.’’
Tower Insurance said most of the 74 claims it had received in the Nelson Tasman area had received visits from its assessors and, where relevant, geotechnical engineers – including by boat and helicopter in remote areas.
Chief claims officer Steve Wilson said a small number of claims had been settled and the company expected to complete all initial assessments in the region in the next two weeks.
AA Insurance said it had so far received 115 claims resulting from the heavy rain event in Nelson/Tasman, and 246 claims nationwide.
The company had closed 14 of the Nelson/Tasman claims, totalling approximately $150,000, with many still undergoing significant assessment and some awaiting civil defence permission for work to begin.
It was managing 84 claims in the Nelson/Tasman district on behalf of Toka Tū Ake EQC, and few of those claims had been resolved. Accessing properties to assess the damage caused by a land slip could be complex, and often involved a number of specialists, as well as rigorous health and safety requirements, the insurer said.
Customers in the Tāhunanui slump zone may need to wait longer for an assessment for instance, as the land around the houses was still unstable.
Toka Tū Ake EQC said 477 land claims had been made in Nelson at end of business last Wednesday.
Of those 382 were for landslip, 43 for storm and 51 for flood, the crown entity said on Thursday.
In Tasman district there were 48 claims for land damage, 35 for landslip, five for storm and eight for flood.
Chief readiness officer Kate Tod said private insurers worked as the agents for Toka Tū Ake EQC to assess the land damage, under the new natural disaster response model, launched last year to simplify the claims process with a single point of contact.
The insurers and Toka Tū Ake were ‘‘focusing on co-ordination of engineering resource’’ to ensure claims could be progressed more quickly, she said.
‘‘We know that for many, this will be an unsettling and frustrating time.’’ Wayne Tippet
IAG executive general manager claims