The transfer of claims from the Earthquake Commission (EQC) to private insurers four years after the Canterbury quakes continues to cause concerns, according to Insurance Council of New Zealand (ICNZ) President Jacki Johnson.

“We must work together to design a system that does not result in double-handling of claims and delays for our customers,” she says in the ICNZ annual review released last week.

The EQC pays the first $NZ100,000 ($98,462) of a home insurance claim, then passes the “over-cap” amount to the policyholder’s insurer.

Ms Johnson says double-handling and delays are difficult for customers and damaging to New Zealand’s reputation with offshore reinsurers that bear the additional costs.

Such problems are also frustrating for insurers who cannot help customers while a claim is under the cap.

Treasury began a review of the EQC in 2013, and Ms Johnson says ICNZ expects that to be advanced this year.

ICNZ CEO Tim Grafton says it is disappointing not to see progress on the review, but ICNZ has initiated talks with the EQC on how to learn from Canterbury and improve responsiveness to major events. It hopes to establish a memorandum of understanding.

Meanwhile, Ms Johnson says ICNZ will continue to lobby for a review of fire service funding.

The service is funded from a levy on insurance premiums, which she says is unfair because underinsured and non-insured people benefit but do not contribute, and it makes no sense when putting out fires is only a small part of the work carried out.

The industry recorded gross written premium of $NZ5.25 billion ($5.17 billion) last year, up 10% from 2013, and incurred claims of $NZ1.31 billion ($1.29 billion), up 9%. Its combined operating ratio improved to 93.69% from 96.27% and the loss ratio was 60.07%, compared with 62.03% in 2013.