About 200 people have expressed an interest in joining a group action against New Zealand’s Earthquake Commission (EQC), following a public meeting in Christchurch last week.

The action could affect private insurers if it leads to more claims exceeding the $NZ100,000 ($89,405) EQC cut-off, at which point they are passed on to insurance companies.

Law firm Anthony Harper says it can cap each homeowner’s contribution at $NZ2000 ($1788) if it gets the 120 litigants needed to make the action viable.

The public meeting attracted people who are unhappy with repairs proposed or arranged by the commission.

Anthony Harper will seek a declaratory judgement to confirm the standard of repair the EQC must meet. It says this will affect repairs done on behalf of the commission and the amount payable if a claim is settled in cash.

The law firm says the EQC is required to replace or reinstate, but in cases where building methods might have changed it is allowed to do this “in a reasonably sufficient manner”.

“EQC appears to be relying on the ‘reasonably sufficient’ standard in all cases, not just in those where circumstances do not permit exact or complete reinstatement,” it said.