Natural hazard related damage or loss

Please refer to Civil Defence for guidance about what to do during an earthquake.

Here are some tips to help you after an earthquake has caused damage to your property.

• Stay safe and follow the advice of Civil Defence and the emergency services.
• Stay home if you are safe and able.
• Make your property safe and secure and take all reasonable steps to prevent further loss or damage.
• Check for structural damage, and damage to gas and electrical lines, appliances and water services.
• Turn power off at the mains if water or liquefaction has entered your house and it is safe to do so. Don’t turn it back on again until it has been checked by an electrician.
• Take photos or videos of any damage or damaged items prior to clean up (if possible) and keep any damaged items.
• Clean up as much as you can.
• Write a description of what happened and a list of damaged or lost items. Gather any receipts or proof or purchase for damaged or lost items.
• If your home isn’t safe to live in and you have insurance cover for temporary accommodation, arrange your temporary accommodation and keep your receipts.
• If you need to evacuate, contact your local emergency management for details about emergency accommodation options or call 111 in an emergency.
• Only return to your property if it is safe to do so.
• Lodge your claim online as soon as it’s safe to do so.

Please refer to Civil Defence for guidance about what to do during a flood.

Here are some tips to help you after a flood event has caused damage to your property.

• Stay safe and follow the advice of Civil Defence and the emergency services.
• Stay home if you are safe and able.
• Move pets inside or to a safe place and move stock to higher ground.
• Sandbag your property if you can.
• Move personal items, important documentation and valuables to a safe place, as high off the floor as possible.
• Unplug electrical devices to avoid damage from power surges.
• Turn power off at the mains if water has entered your house and it is safe to do so. Don’t turn it back on again until it has been checked by an electrician.
• If you need to evacuate, contact your local emergency management for details about emergency accommodation options or call 111 in an emergency.
• Only return to your property if it is safe to do so.
• Check for structural damage, and damage to gas and electrical lines, appliances and water services.
• Make your property safe and secure and take all reasonable steps to prevent further loss or damage.
• Write a description of what happened and a list of damaged or lost items. Gather any receipts or proof or purchase for damaged or lost items.
• Take photos or videos of any damage or damaged items prior to clean up (if possible) and keep any damaged items.
• Clean up as much as you can.
• If your home isn’t safe to live in and you have insurance cover for temporary accommodation, arrange your temporary accommodation and keep your receipts.
• Lodge your claim online as soon as it’s safe to do so.

Urgent repairs may be needed to make your property safe, sanitary, secure, and weathertight following natural hazard events.

If you need to make urgent repairs, please follow the general guidance below. If you are in any doubt about what  ‘urgent repair’ means or how to carry out the work, please contact your broker or the claims team first.

• Only make urgent repairs if it is safe to do so.
• Take photos before and after you complete the work, and before you throw anything away.
• Keep a record of all urgent work done, including quotes and invoices.

Examples of urgent work to your home may include:

• Boarding up broken windows.
• Covering any holes in the roof or walls.
• Fencing off any unsafe areas.
• Making a a damaged chimney safe.
• Removing debris.
• Replacing a damaged heat source.
• Restoring essential services, such as water and power.

Again, if you are unsure about what would be considered an ‘urgent repair’, please check with us before carrying out the work.