Settlements increase as claims keep pouring in

‘‘EQC will continue to remedy any issues with faulty repairs for as long as it takes to put this right.’’ EQC Minister Megan Woods

The Earthquake Commission (EQC) cleared almost half of the Canterbury earthquake claims on its books in May, but has had nearly the same number of new ones lodged since.

Officials are taking it as a sign things are turning around at the oft-criticised natural disaster insurer, but an insurance advocate worries some of the settlements are based on a ‘‘costing of a deficient repair, which is cheaper’’.

EQC Minister Megan Woods said that of the 3617 open claims EQC was managing in May, 46 per cent (or 1664 claims) had been settled – including ‘‘some of the longest and most difficult claims EQC has been dealing with’’. Of those, 3 per cent (or 50 claims) had gone over EQC’s $100,000 liability cap and been passed on to private insurers.

But since May, nearly 1500 new claims have been filed, though many needed only administrative action. As of July 31, EQC was managing a total of 3448 claims, just 169 fewer than in May.

Woods said turning around years of dysfunction at EQC was always going to be an uphill struggle, but she was pleased to see some progress.

The weekly average number of resolved claims had risen from 115 on May 10 to 163 on July 31, an increase of more than 40 per cent. The median length it took to resolve a claim had dropped from 282 to 189 days.

Woods said she was pleased with the progress, but ‘‘must acknowledge there is still a long way to go’’.

‘‘It’s important that Cantabrians know that EQC will continue to remedy any issues with faulty repairs for as long as it takes to put this right.

‘‘This Government knows that our recovery is not complete until all Cantabrians can move on with their lives.’’

Insurance advocate Ali Jones said she cautiously welcomed any positive news.

She said it was interesting only 3 per cent of recent settlements had gone overcap as she believed there were a lot of ‘‘costly’’ foundation repairs being claimed for, and was worried some settlements were based on a ‘‘costing of a deficient repair, which is cheaper’’.

Jones believed damage assessment and repair methodology disagreements were the major sticking points for resolving claims.

‘‘I’d really like some focus to go on repair methodology and assessment, rather than figures.’’

Jones was not surprised 1400 new claims had been lodged.

EQC also plans to start proactively publishing claims data monthly online, showing how many have been resolved and filed and how long people have waited.

Since the change of Government last year, there has been a focus on fixing the problems at EQC. In June, ministerial adviser Christine Stevenson released a report painting the agency as hamstrung by disorder and dysfunction, and raised questions over its data keeping and attitude towards customers.

In April, EQC introduced a new Canterbury business unit to speed up settlement of outstanding claims, which shifted the agency to a case management approach.

In May, EQC found an additional 949 claims that had not previously been included in its reporting, though it claimed all but five had been worked on.

In June, EQC chief executive Sid Miller said he was starting to see some ‘‘green shoots’’ from the structural changes and there had been positive feedback, which was ‘‘hugely uplifting’’ for staff.