A range of reform recommendations to speed up EQC claims has been received by the government, in an attempt to reduce roadblocks to claim settlements.
In the report prepared by acting chief executive of New Zealand Customs Christine Stevenson, recommendations include:
The wide-ranging changes come more than seven years after the Canterbury quakes.
· Hiring more staff to reduce the caseloads for case managers so claimants can get more personal attention.
· Establishing a Claimant Reference Group, comprised of claimants and community representative advocates who are paid for their time and expertise to advise EQC on how to improve the treatment of their customers.
· Making any claimants’ EQC file available to them on request and introducing a standard for better communication with claimants.
· Having a team of experienced EQC staff pull out all of the physical claims files relating to the remaining claims, and have the team sort, review, confirm and capture the key data to ensure it is correct.
· Increasing Government monitoring to improve accountability.
EQC Minister Megan Woods said in a statement the report showed "sizeable issues with staffing levels, data quality, record keeping and organisational culture and structure that are holding back resolution of claims".
She said in addition to the recommendations, there were also broader recommendations which include possibly allowing EQC flexibility to make cash settlements above the cap.
The recommendations were in the categories of EQC responsibility, ones that would require work by Treasury and MBIE and those that need a whole system approach, Ms Woods said.
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