Uninsurable cost of Hutt flood $866,000

Press, 12 January 1977, Page 3

Uninsurable cost of Hutt flood $866,000

PA Wellington The uninsurable damage caused by the recent flooding in the Hutt Valley and Wellington was conservatively estimated at. $866,000 at a meeting of the flood relief committee in Lower Hutt yesterday. Uninsurable damage is damage not covered by any form of insurance — debris on properties, the loss of crib walls, fences, and the like.

The meeting, unlike the first, was open to the press. The Mayor of Lower Hutt (Mr J. Kennedy-Good), who presided, said he felt it should be an open meeting, as public money was being dealt with. The committee heard that a total of $21.3,969 had al-

ready been given in flood relief. Of this, $lOO,OOO had been authorised to be given out among the local authorities and had still not been exhausted. This left a balance of $113,000. It was decided to approach the Government to ask for a $1 for $1 grant to match the amount given.

A deputation will wait on the Minister of Works (Mr W. L. Young) before a meeting of the Cabinet on January 25. A deputation will meet the duty Minister (Mr Adams-Schneider) on January 19.

Mr Kennedy-Good met Mr Adams-Schneider briefly last, evening to brief him. Lower Hutt has reported its uninsurable damage so far as $250,000 but believes it

could well exceed $400,000; Wellington has known uninsurable private property damage of $148,650; Hutt County, $246,000; Petone, $13,000; and Eastbourne, one claim of $5390. The problem facing the various authorities now is that they still do not know the full extent of the damage caused. Until this is ascertained, the relief moneys available \ cannot be distributed.

Some people have unexpectedly found themselves with $lOO and $2OO bills for cars damaged in the floods. The sums form what insurance companies refer to as the “excess” on an insurance policy. Some vehicle-owners have to pat' the first $lOO or $2OO, depending on the policy, of any damage to'vehicles. However, a number of people have gained the impression that the excess will be paid by the Earthquake and War Damages Commission, A spokesman for the commission said yesterday that it would pay the excess where a policy covered fire damage to a vehicle. Where fire was exempt from the policy, the commission could not pay. He said about 70 per cent of those affected would be able to claim the excess, because many people had fire insurance on their cars. A spokesman for the State Insurance Company said the question of whether the excess should be paid depended on each policy; Some policies specified that the vehicleowner was liable for excess only if the vehicle was damaged while being driven. Therefore if the vehicle was damaged while parked in the floods- the owner would not have to pay the excess, he said. The company, did not consider that the Hutt floods were a special case and that all excess payments should be waived. Although they were an “act of God” and there was nothing vehicle owners could do to avoid, damage, this was often the case in ordinary accidents. The Wellington cricket captain, Jeremy Coney, handed over a cheque for $67,503 to the Hutt Valley flood relief fund on Monday. The cheque was the proceeds of the “Evening Post”Radio Windy appeal on behalf of the flood victims and was accepted by Mr KennedyGood. The Mayor said the cheque would do much to help those residents who suffered severe damage to uninsurable property. “We would also like to be (able to assist those who had i no insurance cover and those (who were under-insured,” Mr 'Kennedy-Good said.