Get to know your natural hazards cover
Our beautiful country is at high risk of natural hazards. It’s good to know our national natural hazards insurance scheme has you covered, and to understand its limits.
EQC is changing to NHC Toka Tū Ake
From 1 July 2024 EQC became the Natural Hazards Commission Toka Tū Ake.
We have new legislation, the Natural Hazards Insurance Act, and any new claims for natural hazards damage that occurred on or after 1 July 2024 will be managed under this new Act. Our cover is called Natural Hazards Cover (NHCover). Any damage that occurred before 1 July 2024 would be covered under the Earthquake Commission Act 1993.
The cover is similar under both Acts, and you can read more about the changes at our website.
Your Natural Hazards Insurance levy ensures you have access to NHCover
If your property is damaged by a natural hazard, NHCover provides the first layer of insurance for your insured home and cover for certain areas of land under and around it.
Anyone with a valid private insurance policy that has fire cover has access to this cover and pays a levy through their private insurance premium.
We cover you for a range of natural hazards
We cover damage to your home and land from a range of hazards, including earthquakes, landslides, volcanic activity, hydrothermal activity, and tsunami.
We also cover damage to your insured land from storms and floods (home cover for these events is usually provided through your private insurance policy).
And we cover damage from fire that occurs because of any of the above natural hazards.
Talk to your broker
Your broker may be able to make a claim for you if you authorise them to do so, and manage most communication with your insurer on your behalf.
Contact your broker to confirm how they can assist you with your claim and help you understand your natural hazards cover (including what’s covered and what’s not, and what additional cover is available through your private insurance policy).
Know your cover
Your home – the first $300,000
For your home, we provide cover for:
• your home or holiday home
• separate buildings or structures that you use as part of your day-to-day living (for example sheds, garages, pergolas)
• some essential services that serve your home, such as water supply, drainage, sewerage, gas, electricity, heating, or telecommunications.
How much we cover
If your home is damaged by a natural hazard, we can generally provide up to the first $300,000 + GST towards repairing or replacing your home and related buildings.
Any cover over this amount is provided through your private insurance policy.
It’s a good idea to regularly check that the amount of home cover you are purchasing is enough to rebuild your home.
Your land – unique cover with limits
Aotearoa New Zealand is one of the only countries in the world with access to residential land insurance, provided by the Natural Hazards Commission. This cover is generally a contribution to repairs, and you can’t buy extra land cover through your insurer or broker.
For your land, we cover a limited area:
• the land under and up to 8m around your home and related buildings and structures
• the land under your main accessway up to 60m from the house
• some retaining walls, bridges and culverts, to a limit.
Your land cover is capped
We can only provide cover for repair costs up to the land cap, which is based on the value of your insured, damaged land.
Because it is a contribution, our cover sometimes won’t be enough to fully repair the damage to your property. It’s important to understand these limits and how you can manage the risks to your property.
*This information provides a general summary of the insurance we provide under the Natural Hazards
Insurance Act. The Act will always prevail over the content of this flyer. For more detail please visit our website.
About Natural Hazards Commission Toka Tū Ake
The Natural Hazards Commission Toka Tū Ake is Aotearoa New Zealand’s unique response to our restless geographical environment.
The scheme was first established in 1945 to ensure all New Zealanders could access natural hazards cover.
Nearly 80 years on, we’ve made big changes but stay committed to our work to reduce the impact of natural hazards on people, property and the community by:
1. managing our country’s natural hazard cover insurance scheme
2. investing in research and education to build more resilient communities
3. helping build New Zealand’s readiness to natural hazards, so we’re here when you need us.