Expected rise in earthquake stress claims fails to materialise

Christchurch councillors the Durham Centre said that since the first large earthquake in September they have seen a 100% increase in people needing treatment for stress-related issues.

However, none of the insurance companies Good Returns spoke to had seen any rise in stress-related insurance claims.

"There's been no increase in claims due to stress, and we've been a little but surprised by that as well," said OnePath adviser distribution general manager Jeremy Nicoll.

"The usual cycle is six months or so after a massive or traumatic event like that you'd expect to see a spike and we haven't seen that spike, my understanding is that there is no spike across the rest of the insurance companies."