An independent group of Christchurch earthquake campaigners is heading to Kaikoura to help confused and frustrated claimants navigate through insurance and
EQC claim resolution.
eqcfix.nz will hold a community meeting on March 23 to present observations and lessons learned from the Canterbury earthquakes to fill in the gap in independent information of property owners and assist North Canterbury claimants.
“eqcfix.nz came about because of a need - and that continues now as up to 15,000 homeowners deal with remedial repairs following shoddy work after the Canterbury earthquakes,” said organiser Mel Bourke.
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“We have experienced and knowledgeable presenters including the likes of lawyers Peter Woods, and Dr Duncan Webb, insurance expert Dean Lester and insurance analyst Cam Preston.”
eqcfix.nz aims to help claimants understand what their entitlements are and what should be considered a timely and effective process for resolution.
By sharing the Christchurch lessons, the group hopes to spare Kaikoura claimants the stress of remedial repairs and help them manage their own claims process.
“What we didn’t know in 2010 and 2011 was, that to get our homes repaired or rebuilt the right way, we had to take control of the process ourselves,” said Bourke.
“We had to become ‘experts’ in understanding our insurance policies, standards of repair, building code, settlement process, land reinstatement, and so much more. We had to take control.”
Related stories:
Insurance availability drives demolitions in city
House insurance in quake-hit regions still restricted
Homeowners in quake-damaged town under-insured for rebuild
