EQC Anniversary a milestone for New Zealand

The 70th anniversary since the Earthquake and War Damage Commission was set up in January 1945, is a proud milestone for all New Zealanders, Minister responsible for the EQC, Gerry Brownlee says.

“With the Earthquake Commission (EQC) marking its 70th anniversary today, New Zealanders can be thankful that their grandparents’ generation had the foresight to create such a scheme,” Mr Brownlee says.

“The EQC scheme is unique internationally and has, in the Government’s view, proven its value to New Zealand. During the last four years it has helped to complete the repair of around 64,500 Canterbury homes to get people’s lives back on track.

“This is exactly the sort of event that EQC’s predecessor was set up to handle and it’s proven its worth. The scheme has managed the largest and most complex insurance claims project in New Zealand’s history and the fourth largest in the world,” Mr Brownlee says.

EQC had also retained the confidence of global reinsurers to continue reinvesting in New Zealand. This enables New Zealand to cope with future natural disasters, with flow-on effects for commercial insurers.

As the first-loss natural disaster insurer, EQC can still offer protection for people and property, with about 90 per cent of the New Zealand housing market being insured compared to only 11 per cent of insured homeowners in quake-prone California.

“I’d like to thank all the staff of EQC for their hard work through some very challenging times. There’s no doubt that, as an organisation, EQC has learned many hard-earned lessons in 70 years. Their task now is to ensure this experience builds a stronger organisation for the future,” Mr Brownlee says.