Earthquake Commission working on full assessments
Released 30 Mar 2011
South Canterbury, Mid-Canterbury and North Canterbury members
The Earthquake Commission (EQC) has begun full assessments of the homes worst affected by the 22 February Christchurch earthquake. It is are doing this at the same time as continuing to work on the rapid assessments of all properties in metropolitan Christchurch, Lyttelton and affected parts of Selwyn and Waimakariri. The rapid assessments are giving it a good picture of the extent of damage and setting priorities for the full assessments that are now underway.
Level of damage assessed
After properties are visited for a rapid assessment, a rapid assessment report is left at the property for residents. It assigns the property to a category of damage and gives people an indication of when EQC will be back for a full assessment. Only those properties with house and contents insurance, which have lodged an EQC claim, will receive full assessments. The indicative timelines for full EQC assessment are:
- Houses with severe structural damage will be revisited for a full EQC assessment by mid-July. Those needing repairs of more than $100,000 + GST will then be passed on to the homeowner's insurance company for follow-up
- Houses assessed as likely to have minor structural damage will be revisited for a full EQC assessment between mid-July and mid-September
- Houses assessed as likely to have no structural damage will be revisited for a full EQC assessment between mid-September and mid-December.
If you have any questions about your rapid assessment, or if think you have been assessed in the wrong category, please contact EQC on 0800 DAMAGE (0800 326 243).
Full assessment
People with house and contents-related insurance will receive full EQC assessments, which are underway. These full assessments are a more detailed inspection of damage and the likely repairs needed. An EQC staff member will contact you about the timing of a full assessment as you will need to be present to show the assessor around your home.
Please note all assessors will be carrying EQC photo ID. These photo IDs have security features including watermarks. If you have any doubts about the authenticity of an assessor call the Police.
Progress
By the end of this week there will be 540 assessors working across Christchurch on both full and rapid assessments. At the same time EQC's partner, Fletcher Construction, is progressing the work of emergency repairs. It has completed just over 3,000 urgent repair projects completed or underway.
Contacting EQC
If you think your home has been missed by the rapid assessment team or you have any questions about your rapid assessment, please contact EQC on 0800 DAMAGE (0800 326 243). Equally, if you have not yet made a claim for new or worsened damage from the 22 February earthquake, please do so by contacting us on 0800 DAMAGE or online at www.eqc.govt.nz
You have until Monday 23 May to make a claim for any damage caused by the 22 February earthquake.
For further information, contact EQC at:
0800 DAMAGE (0800 326 243)
EQC website: www.eqc.govt.nz
Facebook: www.facebook.com/earthquakecommission
Twitter: www.twitter.com/eqcnz
John Hartnell
Federated Farmers earthquake spokesperson
