The Insurance Council of New Zealand (ICNZ) says a seminar on buildings’ internal fitout failures during earthquakes is part of a bid to tackle the issue after high-rise commercial properties in Wellington were damaged during the Kaikoura event.

“There is a lot of work and discussion going on behind the scenes among officials and between ourselves and other organisations, and so there is a much higher level of awareness of these issues,” ICNZ CEO Tim Grafton told insuranceNEWS.com.au.

Internal non-structural elements include ceilings, internal wall partitions and various building services such as heating and cooling systems.

Mr Grafton says tighter regulations may be needed to ensure internal features are more closely checked after building construction and later refits.

“What we are seeing is that buildings are being signed off for their structural elements, but the non-structural things are passing through without getting a good inspection and due sign-off,” he said.

ICNZ will host the seminar with the Earthquake Commission and building consultancy and research group BRANZ. The forum at Te Papa Wellington on July 26, is aimed at businesses, and up to 200 participants are expected.

The 7.8-magnitude Kaikoura quake last November lasted for a relatively long time and was unusually complex.

“There is a lot of work still under way to understand the nature of that event and how it caused damage to buildings, some of which were up to the new building standard and had been built in recent years,” Mr Grafton said.