Around 150 vehicles are still stuck in the basement of the SkyCity Convention Centre more than 100 days after they were trapped due to the fire in October.
Firefighters worked on extinguishing the blaze on the roof of the building from October 22 to 24, which resulted in the basement car park floors becoming flooded and the vehicles submerged in water up to their windows.
AA Insurance, which had 32 customer cars in the car park, predicted that the vehicles would be removed this week, but SkyCity clarified that there were no immediate plans to free them. Despite not having been able to assess the cars, the insurer still insisted on paying out all 32 insurance claims, totalling $400,000.
An AA Insurance spokeswoman confirmed that they also assessed contents claims for clothing, tools, and other items but figured that they would have been damaged either by the initial flooding or long exposure to damp conditions and mould.
Simon Hobbs, head of claims at AA Insurance, said they usually wait until the cars have been assessed before processing claims, but there was no way to know how long the vehicles would be stuck in the car park, so they decided to settle the claims right away.
“The cars have been in there so long - in dark and damp conditions - there will be special processes around getting the vehicles out,” he told Stuff.co.nz. “Car owners will be invited to come and grab anything they want out of them, but because of high levels of mould, protective gear will need to be worn.”
