The Insurance Council of New Zealand Te Kāhui Inihua o Aotearoa has issued a statement on behalf of all Kiwi insurers welcoming the New Zealand Claims Resolution Service, saying the claims resolution service system would augment the country’s first-line response to natural disasters and help homeowners through increasingly frequent extreme weather events and extreme-weather-driven insurance claims.
News of the New Zealand Claims Resolution Service comes in the wake of the recent North Island floods and Cyclone Gabrielle, as well as the Auckland Anniversary flooding, which resulted in affected Kiwis filing tens of thousands of claims.
The new claims resolution service aims to work in the spirit of predecessor organisations, such as the Greater Christchurch Claims Resolution Service and the Residential Advisory Service, both of which were established with the help of insurers, the ICNZ pointed out.
“People must still make their insurer their first point of contact when making a claim,” said ICNZ chief executive Tim Grafton. “Even after major events, the vast majority of claims are settled smoothly. The New Zealand Claims Resolution Service is an invaluable service that will provide free and independent insurance-related advice to people at what is often a very stressful time for them.”
Grafton appreciated that the exclusive value of organisations, such as the New Zealand Claims Resolution Service, was their twin abilities “to offer truly independent, free advice” and “to talk people through the claims process”.
“This is particularly important where there is a complex claim,” Grafton said. He explained that the level of understanding engaging the New Zealand Claims Resolution Service offered could prevent misunderstandings and unnecessary delays in settling claims.
Where necessary, as when there were disagreements between the insurer and the client around the value of a loss, the services of an organisation such as the New Zealand Claims Resolution Service could avoid protracted disputes and support recovery at a critical time, the ICNZ said.
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