If your dwelling (home), personal property or land has been damaged by the Canterbury earthquakes (or aftershocks) and you have current home and/or contents insurance, you may be eligible to make a claim with the Earthquake Commission (EQC). EQC automatically covers people with fire insurance which covers their dwelling and personal property (most ‘home and contents’ policies include fire insurance cover).
What is the claims deadline?
Claims need to be made within 3 months from the day your dwelling, personal property (contents) or land is damaged by the earthquake or natural disaster. The same claim can cover damage to the dwelling, personal property and land. However, you should notify EQC of any further damage resulting from each subsequent earthquake or aftershock. There is no benefit in delaying your claim, even if you think there may be additional damage within the three months (e.g. from aftershocks). If you find extra damage after making a claim, let us know as soon as you can.
What does EQC cover?
Under EQC cover, a dwelling is insured up to a maximum of $100,000 + GST and personal property is insured up to $20,000 + GST. EQC also provides natural disaster insurance for a defined area of the land on which a dwelling is situated against natural disaster damage.
Dwellings are insured by EQC on a replacement value basis. Personal property is insured on the same basis as the fire insurance policy covering that personal property. EQC will pay the amount of the damage to your insured land (usually the repair cost if the land is repairable) or the value of your insured land at the time of the earthquake or natural disaster, whichever is less. Some retaining walls are insured by EQC for indemnity value. This means the valuation takes into account the age and state of repair of the retaining walls.
Make a claim
- If you make a claim online on this website, an outline of the next steps in the claims process will be emailed to you. If you make a claim over the phone, the outline will be posted to you.
- You should contact EQC rather than asking a broker, agent or insurance company to call. We will ask who you’re insured with and gain an idea of the extent of damage. If you’re unsure of your insurance situation, or you don't remember who you’re insured with, contact us anyway. We will do all we can to help you clarify your insurance details.
For more information see our Guide to Making a Claim brochure on our main EQC website.
