Timeline sought for outstanding insurance claims
The MP in charge of Christchurch’s earthquake recovery has put the pressure on to get outstanding insurance claims settled.
Greater Christchurch Regeneration Minister Megan Woods attended the annual general meeting (AGM) of Government-owned insurance company Southern Response yesterday.
Woods said she asked Southern Response to provide her with a timeline of when outstanding claims would be settled, something she had already requested from the Earthquake Commission (EQC) and the Insurance Council of New Zealand.
She had also asked EQC and private insurers to provide feedback on what they needed to settle outstanding claims.
‘‘I want to see momentum in terms of settlement of claims, but I don’t think we can keep doing the same thing and magically expect a different outcome.’’
Woods said sorting out unsettled claims was a priority for her because there were over
3000 outstanding claims between all of the private insurers.
‘‘For me, every one of those 3000 people represents a family or a person that can’t get on with their lives.’’
She said it was the first time a minister had attended Southern Response’s AGM. The meeting was ‘‘a good opportunity to have a conversation with the board around my expectations as a new minister’’.
Southern Response board chairman Ross Butler said there was a productive discussion about the company’s claim settlement initiatives, including ‘‘possible new solutions to resolve the outstanding earthquake claims in Canterbury’’.
Southern Response expected to settle ‘‘the vast majority’’ of the overcap claims it was managing before the end of 2018, he said.
The company has 912 overcap claims in progress, of which 205 houses are currently being rebuilt. It has settled more than 7300.
‘‘As we enter the final stages of our programme, we are committed to working closely with all of our remaining customers to resolve their claims fairly and as quickly as possible,’’ Butler said.
Southern Response is responsible for settling claims from AMI policyholders whose property was damaged in the Canterbury earthquake before April 5, 2012 – the date AMI was sold to IAG.
It is facing a class action lawsuit from a group of disgruntled policy holders who claim policies were misrepresented, processing was unduly delayed and build costs were understated. Earlier this month, an Afghanistan veteran whose earthquake-damaged home was contaminated with black mould said Southern Response were was less trustworthy than the Taliban.