EQC sent an email by mistake to the wrong person. The email contained private information about 83,000 earthquake damage claims. While it did not have names, it gave addresses and information about the damage at that address and the amount of money it would cost to repair the property. Many home owners are still waiting to find out how much EQC will pay to repair their home but EQC has not told them. However, a businessman who has done repairs for EQC received this email with the EXCEL spreadsheet attached. When EQC contacted him, he deleted the information but already other people in his office had seen it.
EQC sent an apology to everyone on their email list and plans to place an advertisement in the newspaper to apologise for this breach of privacy.
Meanwhile, the businessman who received the email asked why EQC has not told home owners the information about their claim for damages. Why are people still waiting to find out?
This is not the first time a government organisation has sent emails with private information to the wrong person. It is quite easy for us to make a mistake with an email address but a government organisation needs to be more careful with private information.
Type EQC in the search box to find out more about insurance claims after the earthquakes in Canterbury.
Vocabulary
• EQC – Earthquake Commission – it is owned by the government
• claims – asking for EQC to pay for repairs to damage caused by the earthquake
• breach – break in a promise to keep information private