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The Earthquake Commission

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EQC is New Zealand’s main provider of natural disaster insurance to home owners. As New Zealand is a very geologically active country it is constantly at risk of natural disasters. Everyone can plan and prepare for natural disasters to ensure damage to property is minimised.

Earthquakes happen every day in New Zealand. Most are too small to be noticed, but between 150 and 200 are big enough to be felt each year. The Canterbury earthquakes, Cook Strait earthquakes and Kaikoura earthquakes have proved that there is the potential for large earthquakes at any time.

Parts of New Zealand are also at risk from active volcanoes, landslides and tsunami. All New Zealanders need to be prepared for natural disasters so loss can be reduced.

EQC Insurance

EQC provides insurance to cover for loss or damage from the following natural disasters;

  • earthquake
  • natural landslip
  • volcanic eruption
  • hydrothermal activity
  • tsunami

EQC not only provides insurance. Research and public education are also core functions of EQC.

As part of their research programme EQC funds and supports a range of initiatives including Geonet which monitors seismic activity nationwide and conducts research about natural disasters. EQC also conducts a lot of research into natural disaster damage and methods of preventing and reducing it.

EQC’s public education programme informs people living in New Zealand how to prevent and reduce damage caused by natural disasters; you may have seen the television advertisements about reducing earthquake damage. This includes explaining how to make homes 'quake safe' and how to reduce the potential for damage from events such as volcanic eruptions and landslides.

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Visit the EQC website to find out more about how to prepare for and reduce loss from natural disasters.

EQC works on research programmes and education to reduce loss during natural disasters. Can you explain in your own words what the main message of this advertisement is? Image: EQC.

EQC is the main provider of natural disaster insurance to home owners. How do you think this house was damaged? Image: David Whethey.

The Canterbury earthquakes caused widespread damage in Christchurch and led to the largest insurance payouts in New Zealand. Image: David Whethey.

Many houses were damaged during the Canterbury and Kaikoura earthquakes. Image: LEARNZ.

«Previous
Monitoring Geohazards
Next»
Coping with Geohazards