Kaikoura business gets advice and support

Document your damage and remember you don't have to accept the first insurance estimate, Christchurch restaurants tell their quake-hit Kaikoura counterparts.

Restaurant owners affected by the 2011 Christchurch earthquake travelled to Kaikoura yesterday to share their experiences and offer advice to Kaikoura hospitality businesses affected by last week's magnitude 7.8 earthquake.

The trip was organised by the Restaurant Association, whose chief executive Marisa Bidois was joined by Cafe Valentino owner Michael Turner and Sam Crofskey, of C1 Espresso.

Bidois said Kaikoura's businesses were eager to ask questions of people who'd had the same experience.

"The locals just really appreciated having people there to speak to who have been through something similar," she said.

"There is some uncertainty to be honest and people are worried, but optimistic. With the roads being closed people are pretty concerned about what's going to happen to their income during what would have been their busiest time of the year."

The major topic of the day was insurance, with many businesses unsure about what they were entitled to, or how to go about making a claim.

"Some of the advise was around documenting your damage - taking photos of everything in the business before you clean up - because that's the way you produce your evidence. It's also not necessarily accepting the first quote that you get back from any loss adjuster, it's letting people know that they have the right to challenge these things as well if they're not happy with it."

The Government last week announced a $7.5 million relief package for Kaikoura's small businesses.