A customer survey on insurers’ actions after the Christchurch earthquakes is under way, aiming to help create an industry best practice.

The survey, devised by Michael Naylor from the Massey University School of Economics, asks commercial and residential claimants about every stage of their claims experience.

Dr Naylor told insuranceNEWS.com.au the scale and complexity of quake damage means an academic survey such as this is important for insurers around the world.

Such an extreme event did not allow insurers to respond by normal methods, he says.

“We are using a lessons-learned approach – what did the insurers do that was right, which should be part of a future best-practice model, what lessons have they learned?

“People have gone through the kind of trauma [they might experience] in war. That’s very difficult for insurers to deal with.”

Dr Naylor urges insurers to direct satisfied claimants to the anonymous online survey.

“Given that bad results for an insurer could damage their reputation, they all need to be actively helping us reach clients who had a good claims experience.

“We hope to learn what insurers did right, so when the next disaster occurs things will be better.”

Dr Naylor hopes to reach tens of thousands of respondents.

However, he says getting people to complete the survey will be challenging because most victims are poor and many still have no internet access.

He says the survey may also force people to relive the trauma of the event.

“The people of Christchurch are still aggrieved and angry and over-surveyed, so it’s hard to motivate unless we convince them of the study’s significance.”

To access the survey click here.