1. AMY ADAMS (National—Selwyn) Link to this
to the Minister of Finance
How many claims does the Earthquake Commission expect to receive as a result of the earthquakes in Canterbury since 4 September 2010?
Hon BILL ENGLISH (Minister of Finance) Link to this
So far the Earthquake Commission has received 240,000 claims since the earthquake on 4 September: 157,000 claims for the September earthquake itself, 58,000 claims for the 22 February earthquake, and the remainder for earthquakes that occurred between those two major events. Overall, the Earthquake Commission expects to handle more than 300,000 claims. That is a very significant insurable disaster by world standards.
How does the likely number of claims for the Canterbury earthquakes compare with those for other disasters in New Zealand and overseas?
The 300,000 claims that are expected from the Canterbury earthquakes far exceed any number that the Earthquake Commission has dealt with before. Previously, the largest number of claims for a single earthquake was the 6,227 claims for the Gisborne earthquake in 2007. We need to bear in mind that the Earthquake Commission was, as recently as September last year, an organisation of about 25 people. It has now expanded to over 1,200, and will probably employ more. By international standards the number of claims is large. For instance, after Hurricane Katrina in the US, one large insurer—State Farm Insurance—handled 400,000 claims. It is worth noting that that company had 68,000 employees to handle that large spike in claims whereas the Earthquake Commission has about 1,200.
What steps has the Earthquake Commission taken to assess damaged properties in a timely manner after the 22 February earthquake?
The Earthquake Commission understands the need to give people information so that they can make decisions about their accommodation. The commission has already completed about a thousand emergency repairs of Christchurch homes, and has another 1,200 under way. Those are repairs to make homes livable. Last week it announced a new rapid assessment process for all Christchurch houses. About 25,000 houses have been assessed under this process, which is designed to prioritise those that need urgent repairs. The assessment will rank homes into categories of damage and give homeowners a time frame for when they will receive their full Earthquake Commission assessment. The priority is urgent repairs to make houses weathertight and secure. The rapid assessment process started last Friday in the most affected suburbs, including Bexley, Bromley, and Aranui. The Earthquake Commission expects to have completed a rapid assessment of every house in metropolitan Christchurch, including Lyttelton, within 8 weeks.
How has the Earthquake Commission performed in paying contractors repairing earthquake damage in the Christchurch area?
I followed up on some publicity that the Earthquake Commission was being slow in paying its contractors. Of course, the Government would want the commission to pay them as quickly as possible. As of last Friday, I am advised that there are 475 unpaid invoices and none of these is more than a week old. On 22 February, the date of the second large earthquake, there were 205 invoices in the Earthquake Commission’s system, and the oldest invoice was dated 16 February. We will keep monitoring the situation, but I think there has been some confusion because there are contractors operating in Christchurch who are not, in fact, contractors for the Earthquake Commission. I myself have come across examples where excessive charges have been made or bills have not been paid, but they are actually private arrangements and not to do with the Earthquake Commission.