Skip navigation

NHC Assessment Manual - NHI Act

The NHC Assessment Manuals set out the Natural Hazards Commission Toka Tū Ake (NHC) guidelines and relevant policies on how we (and those we authorise to act on our behalf) assess claims made for natural hazard damage in accordance with the Natural Hazards Insurance Act 2023 (NHI Act) and the Earthquake Commission Act 1993 (EQC Act).  

NHC Assessment Manual

The NHC Assessment Manual – NHI Act sets out our guidelines and relevant policies for how we (or those we authorise to act on our behalf) assess claims for natural hazard damage in accordance with the NHI Act. This manual is for claims made for initial damage from natural hazards occurring on or after 1 July 2024. It shows common damage elements, and gives examples and guidance to ensure claims for natural hazard damage are assessed consistently.  

NHC Assessment Manual – EQC Act

The NHC Assessment Manual – EQC Act [PDF, 16 MB] sets out our guidelines and relevant policies for how we (or those we authorise to act on our behalf) assess claims for natural hazard damage in accordance with the EQC Act. This manual is for claims made for initial damage from natural hazards that occurred before 1 July 2024. It shows common damage elements, and gives examples and guidance to ensure claims for natural disaster damage are assessed consistently.

Disclaimer

These manuals have been written for the Natural Hazards Commission Toka Tū Ake (NHC) and everyone authorised to deal with a residential building or residential land claim on our behalf:

  • our staff and contractors;  
  • private insurers (acting as our agent under the Natural Disaster Response Agreement (NDRA), as amended from time to time) and their staff and contractors; or  
  • third-party providers (authorised to act on our behalf, either appointed by us or an insurer as permitted under the NDRA) and their staff and contractors.   

These manuals are designed to be hosted internally, so we have disabled their links. We recommend that you read these manuals together with the applicable NHC Claims Manual (Residential Buildings or Residential Land) and refer to the relevant sections as required.   

We do our best to ensure these manuals (and other NHC documents that these manuals link to) are always accurate and current. However, we cannot accept any liability for the accuracy of the content of these manuals (or of other NHC documents that these manuals link to) at any time.  

We will update these manuals from time to time. When we have made updates, we will try to publish the latest version on this website as soon as we can. However, there may be a period where this website does not show the latest developments.  

We must comply with the detailed provisions of the Natural Hazards Insurance Act 2023 (for NHCover claims) and the Earthquake Commission Act 1993 (for EQCover claims). In any conflict between the information in these manuals and the provisions of the relevant Act, the provisions of the Act prevail.  

Any person using these manuals only does so on the basis that they have read and accepted this disclaimer. 

Help 

If you have a question about NHCover (or EQCover) or have difficulty accessing these documents, please contact us: