The firm that owns the former New Zealand Post House in Wellington has agreed to receive an insurance payout after mediation which is less than its original claim for damages and business interruption caused by the Kaikoura earthquake in 2016.
Argosy Property lodged claims totalling $65.8 million for the building, which is located at 7 Waterloo Quay, according to a report by Stuff. Of that amount, $50.7 million was for material damage and $15.1 million for business interruption.
The company instead received a total of $47.5 million plus GST for a “full and final settlement”, the report said, with a deductible of $4.9 million.
According to Argosy, the deal with the insurers was a result of mediation.
“It is very pleasing to have resolved the claim with insurers and avoided a drawn-out legal process. We will update the market further at our FY21 financial results which will be announced in May 2021”, Argosy chief executive Peter Mence was quoted as saying in the report.
The damage claim of $50.7 million was mostly for reinstatement works, which were urgently needed to make the damaged areas of the building fit to be occupied, and was not agreed in advance with insurers.
It its half-year result released in November, Argosy said that all office floors have been reinstated and that around 82% of space has been leased to various government agencies and organisations. The building’s façade also needed additional work that would cost around $15.5 million, but it was not related to the insurance claim.
