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Sir Michael Cullen has officially started as the new Board Chair of the Earthquake Commission (EQC).
“I have joined EQC as the organisation continues to undergo a great deal of change and is also making a great deal of progress in settling claims for people across the country,” Cullen said. “Overall, the number of unresolved Canterbury claims continues to reduce and settlement times are improving.
“We are also close to completing the programme of claims lodged with EQC for the Kaikoura earthquake,” he added.
Despite this, Cullen acknowledged that there is still work to do in settling Canterbury claims and improving EQC’s claim management processes and highlighted that EQC is continuing to implement the recommendations that were made in the Independent Ministerial Advisor’s report.
He also mentioned a KPMG audit of the IMA recommendations, which confirmed that the areas EQC has responsibility for have been fulfilled and are continually monitored for effectiveness.
“I would like to thank Dame Annette for her time and contribution as interim board chair,” Cullen added. “She has supported the changes this year and the efforts of the teams to ensure that claims are being settled efficiently and so New Zealanders can recover after natural disasters.”
