A highly critical report on the Earthquake Commission's lack of preparedness for the Canterbury earthquakes is calling for a law change so EQC can respond better to future disasters.
The internal report was based on interviews with staff and managers, and refers to a culture of thinking "nothing will happen before I retire".
The report says one way the Government could improve the commission's preparedness would be by broadening its mandate beyond insurance and into handling disaster recovery.
It says the management of the organisation lacked expertise and did not have the capacity to oversee the large number of contractors brought in to handle claims.
The report says changes were slow in coming, including the appointment of a customer services manager which didn't happen until a year after the first earthquake.
Insurance Council chief executive Tim Grafton says a discussion needs to be had about Earthquake Commission insurance claims being handled by private insurers on its behalf.
Mr Grafton says while insurers would need to be paid a fee for handling the claims, there would be benefits.
He says those would include the need for just one assessment, a streamlined process, and allowing customers to deal with an insurer they already have a relationship with.
Mr Grafton says a Treasury review of the Earthquake Commission is likely to consider such a change.
EQC 'did a good job'
However, Earthquake Commission chief executive Ian Simpson says it has done a good job dealing with the aftermath of the Canterbury earthquakes, because it was initially set up as a financial institution and had to adopt extra roles after the quakes.
Mr Simpson's comments are in response to a highly critical internal report from 2011.
He told Morning Report the Commission has done a good job, bearing in mind its original purpose.
"Thanks to the work my predecessors did, we had all the financial arrangements in place so that we can take a hit that's about what, 20% to 25% of New Zealand's GDP and there are no concerns whatsoever from a financial perspective."
Mr Simpson says the commission's role changed from building up finances and being ready to send out cheques, to managing the repair programme post-quakes. He says 45,000 repairs have been delivered through this role.
