Earthquake Commission
| Kōmihana Rūwhenua | |
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| Agency overview | |
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| Formed | 1945 |
| Headquarters | Level 20, Majestic Centre, 100 Willis Street, Wellington 41°17′18.13″S 174°46′28.09″E / 41.2883694°S 174.7744694°E |
| Employees | 885 (2014-2015 financial year) |
| Minister responsible |
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| Agency executives |
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| Website | www |
The Earthquake Commission (EQC) provides primary natural disaster insurance to the owners of residential properties in New Zealand. The Government-owned Crown entity at one point managed assets of $5.93 billion NZD, but its funds are now being drained by payouts for the 2010 and 2011 Christchurch earthquakes. In addition to its insurance role, EQC also undertakes research and provides training and information on disaster recovery.
EQC was established in 1945 as the Earthquake and War Damage Commission, as part of the New Zealand Government, and was originally intended to provide coverage for earthquakes as well as war damage.
Coverage was eventually extended from solely earthquake and war damage to include other natural disasters such as natural landslips, volcanic eruptions, hydrothermal activity, and tsunamis with coverage for war damage later being removed. For residential land, storm and flood damage is covered. Cover extends over fire damage caused by any of these natural disasters.
The current chief executive, Ian Simpson, commenced with EQC in February 2010. He replaced David Middleton who had headed the organisation for 17 years and went into retirement.
The cover is provided at the time the premium is paid to a commercial insurer. A disaster insurance premium is charged to the policyholder, up to a maximum of NZ$207, which provides the holder with EQC's EQCover. This premium is placed into the Natural Disaster Fund.
EQCover entitles the holder to up to NZ$100,000 plus tax (GST) for each dwelling, with any further amount above that being paid by the policyholder's insurance company. For personal effects, EQC pays out the first $20,000 NZD plus tax. The EQC covers only domestic assets and does not provide cover for businesses. By August 2016, the Insurance Council of New Zealand (ICNZ) stated that they were still being handed earthquake claims from EQC from the Christchurch earthquakes, and were thus not able to give a final cost to the insurance industry. In July 2016, EQX had 250 complex cases from Christchurch unresolved, 364 first-time repairs yet to be finished, and 6,144 second-time repairs being handled. If the damage stays "under cap" (i.e. it is up to $100,000 plus GST), EQC assessors will deal with the claim. When the claim goes "over cap", the settlement process is handed over to the commercial insurer. This situation leads to much double-handling and many inefficiencies, and has been widely criticised. In 2015, the Insurance Council of New Zealand submitted to the government that the process be changed and all assessments be handled by commercial insurers instead. Following the 2016 Kaikoura earthquake, the government agreed to this proposal in December 2016 and handed over all Kaikoura insurance claims to commercial insurers. It was also stated that "under cap" claims in Christchurch that have still to be settled will remain with EQC.
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Wikipedia