Vero Insurance New Zealand is providing additional training for employees to become assessors
for EQCover claims under the EQC Act after a surge in claims.
Nearly ten months after the Auckland floods and Cyclone Gabrielle, the insurer is upskilling staff as it continues to deal with claims.
David Drillien, head of disaster response at Vero, said the team was working with their project management partners, Morgan Project Services, to provide the opportunity to team members and further assist customers.
"The Auckland and Northland flooding and Cyclone Gabrielle earlier this year brought on a larger volume of claims than we had ever worked through at one time before. As these events become more common, having more people with the skills to assess the Toka Tū Ake EQC component of claims is beneficial for both our business and our customers."
Jamie Burnett, NDRA delivery manager for Morgan Project Services, said the training would provide Vero with a huge amount of scalability for future weather events.
In 2020, the insurer was one of many private underwriters who announced alongside EQC Toka Tū Ake the commencement of the Natural Disaster Response Agreement (NDRA), which saw insurers manage the land claim on behalf of EQC.
The agreement aimed to help customers have a single point of contact for their claims and enable insurers to look after the entire process, removing duplication, double-handling and uncertainty.
Toka Tū Ake EQC requires assessors to be suitably qualified under a specific framework to be able to undertake the work.
Drillien said the upskilling would improve support for New Zealanders affected by natural disasters.
Bevan McGillivray, loss adjustor at Vero and an assessor for EQCover claims, undertook the training and said it would help minimise incorrect information during the assessment process and support customers further.
Many workers at Vero and Morgan Project Services were eligible for the training, which consists of a multi-day course with a variety of assessments that participants must finish.
"As we have been upskilling more people, we’re getting better at facilitating the training each time, so have been able to improve on our processes for future employees completing the course," says Burnett.
