Kia ora koutou
This week the Insurance Council of New Zealand released stats and information on insurance claims following the July flood in Westport last year. In relation to this media release we saw another from Buller District Council regarding short term funding to progress flood repairs. See below for all the info on this.
Red & yellow stickered homes: We remind and urge residents of red & yellow stickered homes to ensure that building repairs are signed off by licensed Tradespersons and that red/yellow sticker classifications are removed from property records. The importance of this is detailed in a linked article below.
Rates remission: Exemption from or postponement of landowner rate payment obligations is a possibility for red & yellow stickered home owners. In this recovery roundup we include more information on that and a form for those eligible to download and apply.
Crafty Tarts: On a lighter note, we mentioned the kindly donated gifts from The Crafty Tarts, Motueka last week and have gathered some more pictures of these wonderful ladies with their handcrafted gifts to share with you.
Without further ado, welcome to issue #22 of Recovery Roundup.
Ngā mihi, have a great weekend!
Did you miss last weeks update? Catch up on all the news here.
MEDIA RELEASE: SHORT TERM FUNDING TO PROGRESS FLOOD REPAIRS
At its meeting next week, Buller District Council’s Finance, Risk, and Audit Committee will consider a report that recommends establishing a credit line of $7m as bridging finance to progress the urgent repairing of infrastructure that has been damaged by flooding.
The report prepared by staff estimates works to repair damage caused during the flood event in July 2021, and last February, will cost at least around $20m.
Council has a positive and collaborative relationship with government agencies and the parties are working to pull a business case together to secure funding to enable these repairs to be completed.
MEDIA RELEASE: WESTPORT FLOOD PROGRESS INSURANCE UPDATE
The Insurance Council of New Zealand Te Kāhui Inihua o Aotearoa (ICNZ) have released claims progress data on Westport’s July 2021 floods. They show 85% of home claims were fully settled or near completion. Around 85% of home contents claims, and 97% of motor claims, were fully settled.
The community and contractors have faced many challenges in the recovery including a shortage of temporary accommodation, a nationwide shortage of building materials, pandemic lockdowns and multiple weather events that have been retraumatising to many.
“Insurance is there to help put things right after a major event such as this and it has been rewarding for insurers to work with the community to do so,” said ICNZ Chief Executive, Tim Grafton.
REMINDER – REMOVING RED OR YELLOW STICKERS FROM YOUR property record IS IMPORTANT
The Insurance Council recently released figures that show 85% of home claims for the July flooding in Westport are fully settled, or near completion, and that half of these claims were cash settlements.
We have published this article before but it is an important issue worth repeating:
If you have had repairs done to your home you must ensure that any red or yellow sticker classifications are removed from your property record, or risk significant issues in the future.
This is relevant whether your insurance company manages your repairs, or you manage your own repairs with your cash settlement.
Crafty tarts, motueka donate handcrafted gifts
One of our Flood Recovery team members was contacted by Marian Painter who is a member of the Crafty Tarts in Motueka, a group of women who love creating craft work and had a number of hand made quilts and other crafts. The Crafty Tarts group wanted to make a contribution to the flood affected Westport community and kindly offered to donate a range of their handmade goods.
Marian and a member of the group, Val, rallied their members and sent us 4 large bags of beautiful hand crafted goods; quilts, hand embroidered cushions, crocheted rugs and hats.
These amazing acts of kindness from outside of our district continue to make such a difference to those who have been flood effected.
To Marian, Val and team, on behalf of our community, we pass on thanks and gratitude to this amazing group of women.
Rates Remission
West Coast Regional Council invite those whose properties have been affected by flood damage to apply for a rates remission. An approved rates remission grants landowners exemption or postponement from making rates payments for a certain period of time. The conditions under which landowners may be eligible include the landowners property being uninhabitable or unusable for a period greater than one month, due to being subject to either one of the following:
- Erosion
- Subsidence
- Submersion
- Fire
- Other natural natural disaster event that renders the property uninhabitable or unusable such as an earthquaqe
Here is an information sheet providing more information on rates remissions, and an application form:
Information sheet – Rates remissions for properties affected by natural calamity
NEED HELP? PH 0800 768 348
All are welcome at The Community Hub. Whether you have been impacted directly, or are interested to learn more about the recovery effort, pop down to the community hub for a cuppa and a chin wag.
The Community Hub is open Monday to Friday from 9.30am-4.00pm. Phone 0800 768 348 for assistance outside normal opening hours.
On behalf of the Flood Recovery Team, we wish you a safe and sunny weekend.
Noho ora mai
