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NHC Claims Manual – Residential Buildings

The Natural Hazard Commission Toka Tū Ake (NHC) Claims Manuals set out policies on how we (and those we authorise to act on our behalf) apply the Natural Hazards Insurance Act (2023) and the Earthquake Commission Act 1993 (EQC Act) when dealing with NHCover (and EQCover) claims. 

NHC Claims Manual – Residential Buildings – NHI Act 

This version (published 13 May 2025) reflects the provisions of the Natural Hazards Insurance Act (2023) as at its commencement on 1 July 2024.  

This manual applies to NHCover building claims made for natural hazard damage that first occurred on or after 1 July 2024.

NHC Claims Manual – Residential Buildings – EQC Act

This version (published July 2024) reflects the provisions of the Earthquake Commission Act 1993 (EQC Act) as at 23 December 2023.

This manual applies to EQCover building claims made for natural hazard damage that first occurred on or after 23 December 2023 but before 1 July 2024. 

NHC Claims Manual – Residential Buildings – EQC Act [PDF, 1.7 MB] [PDF 2MB] 

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 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: