Tricky David should tell the truth about insurance

National’s Canterbury Earthquake Recovery Spokesman Gerry Brownlee says Labour must end its dishonesty over the number of people yet to get clarity over their earthquake insurance claims.

“It’s sad that someone claiming to be positive in this campaign is knowingly twisting figures to his perceived advantage – it’s called old fashioned negative campaigning,” Mr Brownlee says.

“Claims of anything like 10,000 Christchurch property owners in some sort of limbo are an outrageous exaggeration and Mr Cunliffe knows it.

“Settlement of an insurance claim only occurs when a repair or rebuild has been completed and the keys are handed over, or a cash offer has been accepted and the cheque has been banked.

“It’s a fact that most Cantabrians whose homes were damaged are well on track to resolution of their insurance issues.

“Out of 170,000 residential dwelling claims, around 900 people don’t yet have an offer from a private insurance company, and around 3500 people are working with EQC to get clarity on how and when their properties will be repaired.

“EQC will complete most repairs and settlements early next year, and private insurers have achieved over 90 per cent resolution of their claims.

“We would all like Canterbury’s earthquake insurance issues to be completely resolved, but the reality is the ground shook for almost two years after 4 September 2010, over 13,000 times.

“Serious repair and rebuild work could not begin until we had a sustained period without significant shaking, and settling insurance issues has been underway in earnest since that occurred.

“The reality of Canterbury’s insurance situation is a long way from the doom and gloom Labour is trying to paint.

“After a great deal of patience and hard work from homeowners and insurers, all of whom I salute for their efforts, we’re actually nearly there.

“Labour is not campaigning truthfully or positively in Canterbury, and they need to be called on it,” Mr Brownlee says.

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