EQC is a New Zealand Crown Entity. It operates solely within New Zealand under the aegis of Earthquake Commission Act 1993. This is a specific statute with objectives which include operating a natural disaster insurance scheme which has resulted in coverage for more than 90 percent of residential properties within New Zealand. Prior to the Canterbury earthquakes that began in September 2010, EQC was largely regarded as a financial services organisation that managed a $6 billion investment fund and a global reinsurance programme. The sequence of earthquakes from September 2010 through February 2011, June 2011 and December 2011 combined to be one of the most costly natural disaster insurance events ever. From the Canterbury sequence, EQC received 470,000 claims which, when split into land, building and contents exposures, equated to approximately 756,000 claims which is comparable to Hurricane Katrina, the largest insurance event ever worldwide. After the September 2010 earthquake, it was realised that scale of damage was such that cash settling claims to 150,000 households at that time could have a severe impact on the local community if payments went to purposes other than repairing houses to an appropriate standard. It was clear from a Government perspective that an organised repair programme was required rather than EQC just sending cheques to the owners of damaged homes. The management of the home repair programme fell into the hands of EQC which set objectives of maintaining a satisfactory housing stock in Canterbury and contributing to the retention of skills and people in the region. The Canterbury Home Repair Programme has become one of the largest and most complex construction projects in New Zealand’s history. With 57,000 full repairs completed, 47,000 emergency repairs, and the installation of nearly 19,000 replacement heating sources, there has been no significant exodus of residents, and the objectives have been largely achieved. To date, EQC has expended $7.5 billion (including goods and services tax) out of an estimated total cost of $12 billion and 13,000 full repairs remain with the end of 2014 the target for completion. It is a stretch target and if it becomes necessary to continue repairs into early 2015, EQC will do that.