Commission has $136M in claims

Press, 2 April 1987, Page 3

Commission has $136M in claims

PA Wellington The Earthquake and War Damage Commission has received 5100 claims for compensation after the Bay of Plenty earthquake, representing an estimated total cost of $136 million. Deadline for claims to reach the commission was yesterday, 30 days after the earthquake. The commission’s secretary, Mr Milton Allwood, said $ll9 million of the total claimed so far was in respect of 10 large industrial sites. About 1000 claims were sent to the Treasury for payment, with some cheques already sent, Mr Allwood said.

He expects only a few claims after today, as a three-month extension to the deadline for claims is allowed in the case of sickness or if the claimant has been out of the country.

The Housing Corporation branch manager in Rotorua, Mr Neville Choat, said it would be several months before it knows the final cost of repairs to State houses.

A total of 358 authorise-

tlons for repair work have so far been approved. Of these, 158 are in the Whakatane area and the other 200 are in Kawerau and Edgecumbe.

Mr Choat estimated that about 80 per cent of the corporation’s 84 State houses and flats in Kawerau were damaged.

In Whakatane and Edgecumbe, about a quarter of the corporation’s properties were damaged. Final cost of State house repairs could be more than $200,000.

The Social Welfare Department in Whakatane has so far paid $504,000 to 3329 claimants.

The office director, Mr Brian Trappitt, estimated that about 2000 households had so far been assisted. The executive director of the Insurance Council, Mr Trevor Roberts, “guestimated” that insured losses, including consequential losses such as profits, would exceed $l5O million. It would be a considerable time before sufficient information was available to give an accurate figure, he said.