In the immediate aftermath of the catastrophic earthquake of February 22, emergency triage centres were set up for injured survivors at key points in the stricken city, among them Latimer Square, Canterbury University and the Sanitarium factory in Papanui.
As rescue workers and medical staff carried out their brave and laudable work, attention began to turn to a different kind of triage: emergency financial help for those now without homes and jobs. Over the first three days after the quake, more than 6,000 grants (not asset- or means-tested) totaling more than $1 million were made by WINZ staff to survivors in need of Civil Defence support. Social Development Minister Paula Bennett said there was no limit to the number of grants people could get for emergency expenses.
And, with Earthquake Minister Gerry Brownlee calling February 22 “one of the biggest insurance events in the world,” (130,000 claims to the EQC are expected, on top of the 181,000 claims that followed the September 4 earthquake), the government conspicuously turned its attention to the role of insurers in supporting Cantabrians.
The Prime Minister, interviewed on Newstalk ZB on February 28, made it clear that the government was not shying away from putting pressure on insurers to pay out more swiftly. He was quick to praise banks for their rapid response to customer needs, but less effusive about insurers, agreeing with Mike Hosking that when it came to matters such as key person and business continuity insurance, “the issue can be the timing of payments.”
By this time AIA New Zealand was already on record as to our process for handling claims emerging from February 22. We quickly established a Christchurch claims committee, and are processing all disaster-related claims as a matter of urgency.
In times of crisis, it is not just government, social and emergency agencies that must step up; business has as critical a role to play in the ‘first’ triage response as any other party. (Companies such as Fonterra and Air New Zealand have responded with alacrity, and Fonterra chief Andrew Ferrier has spoken eloquently about the social responsibilities of business, that exist independently of concerns for the bottom line.)
Relevance is all: this is the moment of truth for New Zealand insurers.
