There’s been a natural disaster, what happens next?
This is why you have insurance.
You’ve purchased insurance from us for exactly this type of situation. Most importantly, you and your family are safe and dry. We are here to get your house, vehicles and belongings back up and running. Here’s some important information and tips on how to best handle things:
Your response
- Follow advice: Listen to official information channels and follow the directive of Civil Defence and emergency services
- Ensure safety: Make sure you, your family, and pets are safe. If someone is missing, contact emergency services immediately.
- Grab essentials: Take your emergency bag and a lockbox containing important and financial documents.
- Address health needs: Look after any physical injuries and emotional distress.
- Secure your home: If your home is damaged but standing, secure it. This might include temporary repairs.
- Document damage: Take photos of any damage for insurance purposes.
- Safeguard valuables: If possible, move valuable items to a secure location, like a friend’s house or a storage unit. Your insurance might cover storage costs.
- Contact your insurance provider: If your home needs urgent repairs and is still habitable, contact your insurance provider. Remember to document everything and keep all repair receipts. Be cautious of repair scams.
- We will prioritise claims with serious damage and uninhabitable houses. If this is your situation and you require additional support after lodging your claim you can get a hold of us through [email protected] or by phone 0800 763 929
- If you have ‘black water’, i.e. rising flood damage, and you want to get on with cleaning up you can lift the carpet and underlay and move it outside.
- For damaged contents, start to make a list and take photos. Retain as many items as you can as an Assessor may want to see them.
- If emergency temporary repairs are needed to mitigate further loss/damage to the property, feel free to engage a tradesperson and we will add these costs to the claim. For example, securing lose roofing.
Vehicle damage?
- If your vehicle has been in deeper water (over the tyres) do not attempt to drive the vehicle due to the potential risk of electrical damage and contamination.
- Use a permanent marker to mark on the vehicle where you think the water level got to.
- Lodge a claim online through your dash when you get a chance.
- For abandoned vehicles we will arrange for the vehicles to be towed when roads are open and tow trucks have availability. Please let us know during the claim lodgement if the vehicle has been abandoned away from your usual residence.
- Where possible and only if it is safe, remove personal belongings from the vehicle.
If you have had to leave your home
If you have already managed to find alternative accommodation, thank you and we hope you are staying safe. Please get your claim lodged with us and let us know the cost of the temporary accommodation so that we can prioritise it and have this form part of your claim.
Owner-occupied homes: Do I have cover for alternative accommodation, a place to stay?
Yes, all initio own-home policies provide cover for the cost of your finding emergency accommodation or temporary accommodation if you are required to evacuate your residence by a local authority or government agency (like a council, Civil Defence, NZ Police or Fire and Emergency NZ) OR because the property is at risk of damage, from an event that would be covered by the policy. Flood damage is automatically covered for initio policyholders. Keep copies of accommodation receipts and record timing/dates and we will include these costs as part of the claim.
Rental properties: Do my tenants have cover for alternative accommodation?
If you are a landlord and your rental property is unable to be lived in because of the damage you are not responsible for finding your tenant’s alternative accommodation. This is something they are responsible for and their renters insurance would usually cover. However, with initio’s landlord policy, you do have cover for loss of rent if your rental property is uninhabitable.
Lodging a claim
With initio, lodging a claim is easy. Just login to your customer dash and click on the ‘claim’ icon to the right of your personal information.
Our easy-to-use questionnaire that will step you through lodging your claim. We don’t expect you to understand your policy thoroughly, so we explain things along the way. Once your claim is lodged you will get a confirmation email and you can also see the claim’s progress on your dashboard.
To learn more, this guide walks you through how to claim with initio.
Provide detailed information: The more details you share with us, the better we can assess claims based on urgency, necessity, and vulnerability. Rest assured that our smart claims platform is designed to handle high volumes efficiently. It also can be adjusted so the questions are more relevant for significant events, enhancing our understanding of the damage to your property. This tailored approach helps us serve you better.
Photos make a difference: Uploading photos during the claim lodgement process is highly beneficial. With our smart claims platform, you can also add photos to your claim, even after it’s been lodged. We encourage you to take detailed photos of the damage to your property. This could include, but isn’t limited to, flood water levels, structural damage, affected areas, and any other relevant damage. This visual evidence supports your claim and helps us understand the extent of the damage more accurately.
How soon do you need to make a claim following a major event?
After a major event, your safety and the well-being of your family come first. We understand that it may not be immediately possible to lodge your claim due to various reasons, such as lack of internet access. When it’s safe and feasible, we ask that you submit your claim promptly. The above checklist outlines the steps to take. Our main expectation is that you lodge your claim as soon as you can, once it’s safe to do so. Please keep in mind that you can always phone us for immediate advice.
Our response to major events
Following any natural disaster, we usually receive a significant number of claims. Our team will work on prioritising and acknowledging your claims. Our focus will be to ensure people are safe and that homes are secure following damage.
If you receive a quote from a contractor please send it to us as we take a pragmatic approach to repairs. Learn more about the major event claims process.
We prioritise claims for those vulnerable, most in need, emergency accommodation, and serious damage.
Other tips
- Never wade through flood water and avoid using vehicles or electrical appliances that might have water damage.
- Wear gloves, masks, and protective gear so you don’t come into contact with anything dangerous.
- Turn off the power at the mains if flood water has entered the home.
- If you are a landlord, check in with your tenants
- Learn more about staying safe on the Civil Defence website
EQC Claims
Claims from a significant event may include areas of damage which EQC covers and also areas which EQC does not cover. All claims need to be lodged with us in the first instance, and then any EQC aspects are referred to EQC internally. This means that you only have to deal with initio (rather than also with EQC), but in the case of significant events, EQC claims can take a while to be processed. EQC claims are assessed in line with the Earthquake Commission Act 1993, we are bound to the due process that has to be followed.
FAQ’s
Can I start cleaning up?
Yes, but take photos and keep a schedule of damaged contents/items you remove from the house
When will an Assessor come and see me?
We are currently appointing assessors and priority will be given to those with serious damage and to those homes that are accessible.
Do I need to find accommodation for my tenants?
No, you can if you like but this is not your responsibility. Your tenant(s) will have to sort this on their own and they will incur costs to do this, however, if the house is not habitable they will be entitled to stop paying you rent. You can claim this loss of rental income through your landlord policy.
My house needs drying, how do I do that?
We use the services of Jaes for drying and pumping water. They are currently over capacity and we will be working with them on the most serious losses, but it could take many days before they can get to you. If you have your own ability to source pumping or drying equipment you can add this to the cost of your claim,
Do I have cover for alternative accommodation, a place to stay?
Yes, all initio own home policies provide cover for the cost of your finding emergency accommodation or temporary accommodation if you are required to evacuate your residence by a local authority or government agency (like a council, Civil Defence, NZ Police or Fire and Emergency NZ) OR because the property is at risk of damage, from an event that would be covered by the policy. Flood damage is automatically covered for initio policyholders. Keep copies of accommodation receipts and record timing/dates and we will include these costs as part of the claim.
Am I covered for damage to my land?
The Earthquake Commission (EQC) provides certain cover for land damage; the EQC provides more than just cover from earthquake damage. Your insurance policy with initio includes EQC cover, and if your land is damaged by storm or flood, you’re eligible to make an EQC claim. To make the claim process simpler, you no longer have to claim through the EQC, we/our underwriter (IAG) will handle your EQC claim on behalf of the EQC. To understand more about how EQC land cover works see this EQC Landcover Guide
Other resources
- GENERAL: Civil Defence
- FLOODING: Civil defence – flooding factsheet
- EARTHQUAKES: Geonet | EQC
Other initio articles of interest