The act provided for the establishment of an Earthquake and War Damage Fund and the scheme was financed by a compulsory levy imposed on all fire insurance policies.

The act was administered by the State Insurance Office, which provided staff and accounting services; Treasury determined the fund's investment policy.

These changes reduced the government's exposure to a very large potential liability and brought the EQC system more in line with current insurance industry practices.

[7][8]In its first 65 years, the commission was called on to settle only relatively minor claims and the disaster fund continued to grow, reaching $6.1 billion by August 2010.

The overarching objectives of its changes were "to enable better community recovery from natural hazards, to clarify the role of the Commission and the cover provided by the Bill, and to enhance the durability and flexibility of the legislation.

In most cases, private home insurance policies cover the cost of natural disaster damage above the amount paid by the commission.

The then Earthquake Commission (EQC) received over 470,000 claims, more than 15,000 families lost their homes, and repair costs were estimated at over $40 billion.

[27] EQC's preferred method of settling claims till this point had been to make payment rather than to repair the damage.

However, soon after the 4 September 2010 earthquake, EQC's then chairman, Michael Wintringham, confirmed in the commission's 2010–11 Annual Report that it had been asked by the government to settle claims by repairing buildings, (if the cost was not above cap, in which case EQC would cash settle and pass the claim to the owner's private insurance company).

[28] The then Chief Executive, Ian Simpson, prefaced these comments by stating: "It is important that we are accurate with our claims settlement process.

Not just for our customers in a very difficult and uncertain time but also for the continued confidence of the global insurance market and the protection of the EQC funds for all New Zealanders".

EQC's later response was to engage Fletcher Building, the country's largest construction company, as its agent to undertake the necessary repair work.

[32] For building claims, EQC chose first to assess properties to determine the extent and cost of repairing any damage.

During this period, EQC pointed out the magnitude of the task it faced, its relative success, and the external factors that hindered it from providing an even better service.

It continued: "much has been achieved by EQC throughout the process of responding to Canterbury events as assessments have been completed, contents claims settled, emergency work undertaken and managed repairs underway in Christchurch".

[38] EQC obtained a High Court injunction preventing publication, which a disgruntled ex-employee and blogger breached by publishing an online link to the list.

In February 2018, Megan Woods, the new minister, expressed her frustration with the EQC board and the pace of claims settlement.

The minister said: "I've made it clear I am not satisfied with where EQC is in respect of the Canterbury earthquake work seven years on from the 22 February event".

[48] An editorial in the Otago Daily Times, on the same day, read:[49] It beggars belief that more than seven years on from the most damaging event – Christchurch's deadly 22 February magnitude-6.3 quake – there are still residents waiting for their claims to be completed.

She made a number of recommendations about clarifying EQC's role and improving its processes for claims handling and communicating with claimants.

[51][52] Cartwright said:[51] I fully accept that staff, managers and the board of EQC faced an overwhelming task from September 2010, made significantly worse by the ongoing major earthquakes that ensued, an absence of clear prior direction from government, added responsibilities and inadequate internal systems.