The considerable gap between customer expectations and what private insurers and government agencies can deliver is a major concern, the head of Vero’s earthquake response has told the New Zealand Insurance Law Association.

Jimmy Higgins says it’s understandable that consumers who have lived in damaged housing for up to two years can lose trust in the ability of insurers, the Government and its agencies, and start to question the point of insurance.

But Mr Higgins says insurers, the Earthquake Commission, Canterbury Earthquake Recovery Authority and the Government are trying to bridge the expectation gap, and the progress insurers are making is consistent with the scale and complexity of the disaster.

“The Christchurch recovery has had to contend with unique factors including scale, complexity and lack of recent experience in managing massive natural-hazard disasters,” he said.

“No individual participant, such as an insurer or government agency, can control the recovery pace, nor can they justifiably be held responsible when that pace does not meet customer or community expectations.”

Mr Higgins says the importance of insurers and reinsurers to the future of Christchurch and the rest of New Zealand is “neither well known nor appreciated” and the way insurers manage claims and reinstatement in Christchurch will affect the future cost, availability and use of insurance across the country.

The earthquake series is estimated to have generated about 400,000 claims.

Mr Higgins told the conference the recovery is moving forward, despite the perception of many in Christchurch that there is no progress.

He says Vero is speeding up its claims management and completion.

“We also understand we can and should improve communication with our customers about the status and expected timeframe of their claims,” he said.

Vero is managing about 19,000 commercial and domestic claims from five earthquakes and has completed more than 30%, paying out nearly $NZ1.5 billion ($1.15 billion).

It is paying out about $NZ100 million ($77 million) a month in claims and expects that by next month all customers – including those in technical category three, among the worst affected – will have timeframes for their reinstatements.

Mr Higgins expects claims to be completed at a faster pace over the next 18 months.