First month of GCCRS sees fourteen cases resolved

The Greater Christchurch Claims Resolution Service has had its doors open for one month, and is already making a difference for Christchurch homeowners.

In the past four weeks, the dedicated GCCRS team has taken over 260 calls, responded to 150 emails, and met with 37 homeowners face-to-face at the walk in counter in Cashel Street.

GCCRS Director Darren Wright says “our settlement support case managers have 206 cases open, and are working with homeowners, EQC, Southern Response, and private insurers towards a resolution.

“What’s even more exciting is we’ve already resolved 17 cases, meaning these homeowners can now move on with their lives.”

One homeowner, Professor Dr Bagchi JP, said their settlement support case manager got a solid grasp of the issues quickly and set to work: “We had been bracing up for a long-drawn and frustrating settlement process (with the possibility of litigation at the back of our minds) but the insurer responded with an updated offer in less than a week. We were able to settle our dispute in terms that were far more reasonable than we could have hoped in light of our earlier negotiations with the insurer. We would certainly recommend the GCCRS process to anyone else who is experiencing issues with settling their earthquake claims with either EQC or the insurer.”

Mr Wright says: “This is an encouraging start for GCCRS and demonstrates how the GCCRS model can help homeowners. I strongly encourage anyone with unresolved claims to call, email, or visit GCCRS to see how we can help”.