453 (2024). Hon Dr Duncan Webb to the Minister of Finance

453 (2024). Hon Dr Duncan Webb to the Minister of Finance: To whom has Southern Response outsourced management of day-today claims, how many claims does this represent, and how much has been paid each month for the past twelve months in this regard?

Hon Nicola Willis: At the end of the 2019 calendar year, EQC was appointed as the Company’s agent to manage day-to-day claims on behalf of the Company. The current Agency Agreement is in place until October 2024 when the existing Ministerial Direction to EQC to perform this function on behalf of the Company is due to expire. Under the arrangements, the Company retains the responsibility for ensuring claims are settled in accordance with policyholders entitlements and continues to provide specialist technical and settlement capability to enable EQC to manage these claims. Outside of the terms of the Agency Agreement, the Company also actively manages its litigated claims and is responsible for the delivery of the Crown’s Package. Since the commencement of the Agency Agreement, EQC has managed approximately 820 overcap claims on behalf of the Company (with 133 open claims at 31 December 2023). EQC also supports the Company by managing other claim types (e.g. post settlement claims). Between 1 January 2023 and 31 December 2023, the average monthly cost to the Company of the Agency Agreement was $145,000 (exc. GST). During the same timeframe, the Company’s liability for settled overcap claims was approximately $30m.