FAQs: 

Cash Settlements

In some circumstances, we may choose to make a cash settlement of your claim. For example, if the cause of the damage is covered by Toka Tu Ake EQC then the claim is generally always cash settled. There may also be reasons that you would prefer to have your claim cash settled. We will explain the basis for the amount we offer to cash settle your claim.

We use our own builders and other experts to carefully scope and cost the work that needs to be done. However, you are free to get your own quotes to estimate how much it would cost to repair or rebuild your property and provide them to us as part of the cash settlement process. If you can, you may wish to obtain more than one quote.

For information on the impact of Government and local Council land categorisations on claim settlements, see our "NZ Government Land categorisation" FAQs here.

FAQs:

Yes, if you want to use your own tradespeople, we can cash settle your claim. This may also include payment for any urgent repair work that was done initially to minimise the loss or damage. You will need to send through photos, the invoice for any urgent repair work and the detailed quote for the reinstatement work. Our team will then review the documentation and any other supporting information, and if the invoices and quotes are fair and reasonable, we may be able to settle your claim without needing to visit the property.

If you have questions about what is covered under the cash settlement, we may need to discuss these with you and your chosen building contractor to reach an agreement. You might want to consider obtaining independent legal or financial advice before accepting a cash settlement

Here are some things to think about when arranging for repairs to be completed on your home:

It’s important you choose suitably qualified tradespeople who you can trust to undertake the work required.
You will need to arrange and co-ordinate the builders and tradespeople and any issues with the quality, cost or timeliness of the repairs will need to be raised directly with them. We will not have any responsibility for repairs that you arrange after a cash settlement.
Check whether your Vero home insurance policy provides any cover for your repairs and whether you will need to consider additional insurance cover, such as contract works insurance. There may also be aspects of your usual insurance that may not cover certain losses whilst a repair is underway. Contact your Broker if you require advice about this.
We may require information about progress on completing the repairs prior to offering to renew your insurance policy.
Following a cash settlement, it is possible further damage not included within the settlement of a claim may be identified. Should this occur it’s important to contact us immediately and stop any repair work, so we are able to assess the additional damage. If we conclude that this damage is caused by the insured event and is covered under the policy, we will make an additional payment to complete these repairs.
Any delay in the repair of your property may bring about additional damage that could increase the cost of repair. These costs will be your responsibility.
Don’t forget to keep any invoices, receipts or records of the repairs you’ve completed. These can be helpful if you need them for guarantees and/or warrantees from the tradespeople you chose.
Until your home is repaired, the amount of cover available for future claims will be reduced by the amount you have been paid for your claim. This means that until the repairs are complete, there will be no cover for the damaged areas of your home that you have received a cash settlement payment for. Once your home is repaired or rebuilt, get in touch with your Broker to ensure you’re fully protected.

You may want to use your cash settlement to make improvements to your home or rebuild your home in a different way to help prevent future damage (e.g. improved drainage, lifting the home). You are welcome to do this, however you should be aware there will be no additional insurance money provided for this work. We only scope and cost the work that is required to repair the property to the policy standard, and this does not include renovations, upgrade work or extensions or any enabling works.

Once we have agreed the cash settlement amount with you, we may need you to sign a settlement agreement. If there are other parties who have an interest in the property such as a bank (if you have a mortgage over your home), Trustees (if the property is owned by a Trust), Directors (if the property is owned by a Company) we will need their agreement too. This can take some time, but we will work with you to complete this as soon as possible. Generally, once formalities are complete payments take between 3 and 5 business days. There can be delays when we are dealing with a large volume of claims after an event such as flooding or a cyclone.

If the cause of the damage is covered by Toka Tu Ake EQC then the claim is always cash settled. It’s likely to take longer to understand what remediation is required to the land prior to any repairs or reinstatement work to the home. It’s important that thorough reports are provided (e.g., geotechnical investigations, engineers, quantity surveyors, land valuations) to ensure that the property remains safe in the longer term. Once all information is gathered, a cash settlement may be offered. The payment that EQC makes for damaged land is the lower of the cost to reinstate the land or the value of the damaged land only. As mentioned, they will assess this, and if the damage is covered by the EQC Act, we will arrange for your EQC land claim to be cash settled.

With large claims and the need for various parties to provide expert advice this process can take months to complete, however our claims teams specialists are here to support you throughout the process.

Home insurance policies explain all the different options for settling claims. This includes an option to build or purchase a home elsewhere. However, the cover provided is to replace your current home - we do not pay for any extra costs associated with building at the new location or purchasing a more expensive house. For example, if you want to upgrade to a larger house, or the location means additional costs are required to prepare the site, these additional costs are not covered by your cash settlement.

For information on the impact of Government and local Council land categorisations on claim settlements, see our "Land Categorisation" FAQs here.

Following cash settlement of your home claim, the undamaged areas of your home will continue to be covered (your policy automatically excludes any unrepaired damage until all repairs have been completed) by your existing home policy with Vero. However, as your Home policy does not provide cover for loss or damage arising from the repair work itself, you may like to consider obtaining Contract Works Insurance cover in order to protect your home during the repair process. Your insurance broker will be in a position to assist you with the process of understanding Contract Works insurance, and help you obtain cover if you wish to proceed.

Disclaimer – The information on this page is of a general nature only, intended to provide guidance about how your claim may be managed. The steps which will be taken to manage your particular claim will depend upon your individual circumstances and your policy wording. Please refer to your policy wording for full details of your insurance cover. If in doubt about what you should do, speak to your Broker or contact Vero on 0800 800 134. 