So you’ve had a slip? What now?
If you’ve been hit by a slip, aside from the shock and the trauma of having your home damaged and deemed uninhabitable, there are processes and paperwork to deal with.
Landslides are often the most visible results of severe weather events, says Toka Tū Ake EQC chief executive Tina Mitchell, cutting off roads and causing damage to residential properties and land, and an increasing number of homeowners are looking to the Crown entity to help repair land damage.
Mitchell said that the ‘historical name’ suggested that the Earthquake Commission dealt mainly with seismic events, but in fact, landslides are one of EQC’s most common claims.
Over the past 150 years, more New Zealanders have died as a result of landslides than have been killed by earthquakes.
Toka Tū Ake EQC responded to questions from Stuff about coverage and how to proceed.
What is covered?
Following a slip, EQCover includes damage to your home up to a cap of $150,000 +GST and damage to certain areas of your residential land. For damage to your home above the EQCover cap, your private insurance may cover this.
For damage to your residential land, EQCover includes: land inside your property boundary, and that is under your home (and in some cases other related buildings); land up to eight metres around your home; land under your main access way (up to 60m from your home); and some bridges, culverts and retaining walls within the above areas.
In a flooding scenario, it is important to understand that
EQCover only covers damage to residential land. The damage to any homes through flooding are covered by the private insurer.
For more information, contact your private insurer or check out eqc.govt.nz/what-we-do/whatyoure-covered-for/
What is not covered?
This depends on your private insurance policy. The best advice is to ring your private insurer first – they’ll talk you through the insurance process, let you know what you need to do next and – if applicable – how EQCover works.
Following a flood or storm, EQCover only includes damage to insured residential land. The damage to any homes from a flood or storm may be covered by your private insurer.
What should people do in the first instance?
Contact your private insurer first to make a claim or understand what is covered under your policy.
Last year, Toka Tū Ake EQC entered into a new National Disaster Response Model with private insurers, giving homeowners a single point of contact to lodge a claim with their private insurer. They will assess, manage, and settle your entire claim – including the EQCover portion – giving you one point of contact.
What should people be looking for in their insurance policies?
New Zealand is fortunate to have a unique scheme that covers both house and land damage, but the scheme does have its limits, so it is vital that homeowners understand what they are covered for and what they are not.
Some examples where homeowners often find themselves without cover include long driveways, beyond the 60m limit, bridges or retaining walls.
In many cases, your driveway may go across your neighbour’s land, so it pays to have a conversation with them to find out what they are covered for. This may include a discussion about any retaining walls outside your property boundary that could have a significant impact on the safety of your home.
How can people maintain calm and peaceful relationships with their neighbours throughout these processes?
Early conversations are important, preferably before you are impacted by a weather event. Once the damage is done, it is helpful to remember that these events are extremely stressful for everyone concerned, so in some cases you may choose to involve an independent third party in those discussions. Respectful cooperation and a practical attitude between neighbours is vital to enable quick recovery.
New Zealand is fortunate to have a unique scheme that covers both house and land damage.