What is NHCover Dispute Resolution?
It is an independent dispute resolution service that has been introduced to support homeowners to resolve disputes about their natural hazards insurance claims. If you disagree with a referable decision made on your NHCover claim, you can contact Fair Way for free and impartial support to resolve it. We can help in two ways – through mediation and/or adjudication.
Who can use it?
Insured New Zealanders can make a Natural Hazards Cover (NHCover) claim for damage caused by a natural hazard event such as an earthquake, flood, or landslide. If you have a dispute about a referable decision made on your NHCover claim, you may be able to access free and independent support from Fair Way's NHCover Dispute Resolution service to resolve it.
Are there any rules?
Yes. Our service can resolve disputes under the
Natural Hazards Insurance Act 2023 (the Act) and follows the
Dispute Resolution Scheme Rules under the Act. For mediations, the Mediation Protocols apply and for adjudications, the Adjudication Protocols apply.
Are there costs involved?
The NHCover Dispute Resolution service is free for homeowners, so there is no charge for mediation or adjudication.
However, you are responsible for meeting your own costs of engaging experts, such as getting legal or engineering advice.
If technical advice is needed during the adjudication process, the adjudicator can consider this as part of their decision. They can award reasonable costs to be paid by NHC Toka Tū Ake.
What is a natural hazard
The Natural Hazards Insurance Act 2023 defines natural hazards as earthquakes, hydrothermal activity, landslides, tsunami, volcanic activity, floods, storms, and fires that result from one of these natural hazards.
The normal action of the wind or water causing gradual erosion (for example, coastal erosion, bank erosion, and sheet erosion) is not a natural hazard.
What is a ‘referable decision’?
Toka Tū Ake to let you know their relevant claim decisions. Most decisions about natural hazards claims are ‘referable decisions’ which means you may have the option to refer your claim to the independent
NHCover Dispute Resolution service.
Examples of referable decisions include:
Validity – whether your claim is valid, eg. if it found that damage is not from a natural hazard
Decline – if your claim is declined, eg. if it is found to be fraudulent or the damage is due to substandard construction
Settlement extent – decisions about the extent or value of your settlement, eg. the costs of land or work, and/or the scope of work to be undertaken.
Decisions about the approach or method of settlement – eg. whether to pay, repair, rebuild or relocate – are not referable decisions and are generally outside of our service.
If you are not sure, you can contact us and our friendly team will let you know if you might be eligible for NHCover Dispute Resolution.
What kinds of information can be useful?
We recommend that you share any useful information that you can. Depending on the nature of your dispute, technical advice from experts about the cause of damage or what the damage is can be useful. Experts may include assessors, estimators, surveyors, valuers, engineers, builders or drainage specialists. If you engage experts for advice or to produce a report, you will need to cover this cost.
What can’t the DRS look at?
NHCover Dispute Resolution can only assist with NHCover claims, that is, claims for damage caused by a natural hazard that happened after 1 July 2024. We cannot assist with other types of insurance – for example contents or home insurance. Check your correspondence, which will let you know the type of claim you’ve made.
Most decisions made on a NHCover claim can be referred to the dispute resolution service, for example whether it is valid or the costs and extent of the settlement. However generally the method chosen to settle the claim is for NHC Toka Tū Ake to decide. For example, they could decide to pay out the claim or they could opt to manage the repairs.
Can multiple issues be part of the DRS?
Yes, if more than one referable decision has been made about the same residential land or property these can be part of the same mediation or adjudication.