Homeowner insurance claim and housing repair experiences

This research examines claimant experiences with cash settlements and their subsequent repair process following the 2016 Kaikōura/Hurunui earthquake. In particular, the research explores how individual and community factors influenced claimant experience and behaviours, as well as repair outcomes.

Cash settlements provide homeowners with the autonomy to manage their own repairs. This approach also places responsibility on homeowners to navigate an often-complex or unfamiliar process, including assessing settlement sufficiency, selecting contractors, and managing repair work. These can all cause significant impact to claimant wellbeing and to housing quality outcomes. Understanding how different demographic groups experienced the claims and repair process can help insurers, building consent authorities (BCAs), and emergency managers identify groups and individuals to prioritise and target support and oversight.

This research builds on the earlier work exploring repair outcomes following the 2016 Kaikōura/Hurunui earthquake. Specifically, this research explores how dwelling setting, age, household income, mortgage status, and whether claimants had children living with them, affected claimant experiences and behaviours. Using data from a claimant survey and interviews with claimants and other key stakeholders, it contributes to a growing evidence base to inform best-practice approaches to residential recovery after future natural hazard events.