Partnership With QBE Simplifies More EQCover Claims

QBE customers in New Zealand will soon have a simplified EQCover claim process when QBE becomes the ninth insurer to join the world-leading partnership with Toka Tū Ake EQC from Monday 3 July 2023.

“We’re delighted to welcome QBE to our claims model partnership. This means we are now partnering with nine insurers to provide insured homeowners with a streamlined process for accessing all of their residential insurance in one place following a natural disaster,” says Tina Mitchell, Te Tumu Whakarae (Chief Executive) of Toka Tū Ake EQC.

Under the partnership model, homeowners only need to lodge one claim through their private insurer if they experience damage to their homes after a natural disaster. Their private insurer assesses, manages, and settles the entire claim, both for EQCover and any additional losses.

“Having a single point of contact to manage your insurance claim after an event is a huge advantage for customers. This was a significant change we put in place after the Canterbury earthquakes where homeowners had to go through dual insurance processes” says Mitchell.

“At QBE we are driven by our purpose of enabling a more resilient future. As a commercial insurer, QBE is pleased to partner with Toka Tū Ake EQC to build resilience and support communities across Aotearoa New Zealand to respond and recover from natural disasters,” says Declan Moore, CEO and Managing Director of QBE New Zealand and Pacific.

“We are looking forward to delivering a simpler claims process for our broker partners and customers. The Natural Disaster Response Model is a customer-focused solution that reduces complexity at a stressful time and ensures claims are processed fairly and as efficiently as possible.”

Homeowners in mixed-use buildings like apartments, which are more common in larger cities, can often find residential insurance claims tricky to navigate due to many parties involved.

“We saw this complexity unfold in Canterbury, so our partnership model makes things easier in two ways. First there is the single point of contact for homeowners making a claim, and secondly a single insurer can sometimes be appointed to coordinate claims if there is shared damage between neighbours,” says Mitchell.

“Ultimately, this means the model can adapt to the situation. It can be more efficient to have one insurer co-ordinating across several units, especially when capacity or specialist resources are stretched after an event.”

“Our new partner, QBE, is a further sign of industry support for the partnership model, which has excellent residential coverage and represents more than 95% of insured New Zealand homeowners.”

Since launching on 30 June 2021, more than 14,300 EQCover claims have been lodged with private insurers to manage the entire claim process on behalf Toka Tū Ake EQC.

The partnership model now includes nine private insurers, who represent more than 20 insurance brands: AA Insurance, Chubb, FMG, Ando (Hollard), IAG, MAS, Vero, Tower, and now QBE.

Toka Tū Ake EQC works closely with the Insurance Council of New Zealand (ICNZ) to support all insurers with their delivery of EQCover to homeowners throughout Aotearoa.

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