The Insurance Council of New Zealand (ICNZ) dismissed claims that homeowners are being lowballed with cash offers from their insurers that will not cover the cost of repairs following the twin climate events earlier this year.
ICNZ said that insurers used market prices for their quotes, and that it was “standard practice” for the industry to provide a full scope of works with a breakdown to the customer.
In an interview with RNZ, ICNZ consumer affairs manager Sarah Knox said that concerned homeowners should contact their insurer if they believe that something was missing from their scope, or if it was not provided altogether.
"My advice to homeowners is to check your scope of works – so you will have received that – and make sure that it covers everything," Knox said.
Knox reiterated that it was “simply not accurate” to say that there was a systemic issue with insurance companies lowballing customers; on the contrary, she said that the council has received positive feedback from some consumer groups and that the settlements had been “more than fair.”
"Many of the companies, for this event, are not making full and final settlements, which means if you find damage that's not scoped, then the door's always open for you to go back to them,” she said.
With that in mind, Knox still urged people whose insurers have made full and final settlements to seek independent advice, with free “second opinions” always available from the New Zealand Claims Resolution Service.
Enquiries regarding insurance claims related to the Auckland floods and Cyclone Gabrielle broke records for the past three months, with IFSO Karen Stevens saying that it reached a peak in May with 569 queries recorded.
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