Claims For Slip Damage Rejected

Press, Volume CIV, Issue 30901, 6 November 1965, Page 1

Claims For Slip Damage Rejected

(From Our Own Reporter) WELLINGTON, November 5. The Earthquake and War Damage Commission has declined each of the first 23 claims so far dealt with for winter landslip damage to Auckland properties. All the claims rejected related to land alone and not to buildings.

So far a total of 70 claims have been filed. No more are expected. They come mainly from Glendowie, Titirangi, the East Coast bays, Whangaparaoa, and Muriwai.

The Minister in charge of the commission (Mr Rae) said today that 30 related to land alone. Another 35 covered cases where insured property was affected, two related to cases where no insurance at all was carried and two to claims for damage to the contents of buildings.

In one of the latter claims, damage had been attributed to flood, not landslip, and an insurance company had already paid out.

A pay-out had also been made . on a small claim for damage to a property at Herne Bay which was specifi-

cally insured against landslip, he said.

Outstanding claims would be dealt with as soon as possible and reports on 15 claims from university and private consulting civil engineers, engaged by the commission, were expected within a week. Mr Rae said that one result of the widely-publicised Auckland slips had been a rush of 64 new applications to the commission for special landslip cover, three-quarters of them from Auckland and the rest from Wellington. The commission, which had a discretion to refuse to insure specifically for landslip, had refused none of the new applications, but had asked three applicants to secure special reports from engineers before proceeding with their proposals.

Mr Rae said that since normal insurance policies on property carried no cover against landslip, much would depend in the more expensive claims yet to be settled on the commission’s decision on the defined cause of damage. If cases of established hardship arose, any variation of existing rules would become a matter for Government decision.