Christchurch residents tired of insurance woes

28/09/2012 12:52:29 p.m.

dag wrote:

Im with VERO insurance but I never would have bothered if I had Known that they were going to effectively renege on the insurance agreement an how can insurers consider that it is ok to leave people in cracked up homes and offer nothing but excuses. the time is coming for you insurers, a class action is in the air and I will be listening out for it. the rest of you kiwis out there wellington auckland etc need to take heed, look at chch, know this; your insurer is not going to come to your aid even though you diligently pay your premiums there are thousands of people here who are getting ripped off. the statistics are true thousands of repairs have been carried out but how many rebuilds? the insurers (and eqc) are spouting off about repairs carried out but they are all small repairs and the statistics make them look like they are doing a great job. If you have a property that is so damaged it needs a rebuild forget it! its all gone quiet.

24/09/2012 9:56:35 p.m.

Bon wrote:

My aunt is with State and has a very different story. She is in an ownership flat and it has always been a rebuild. The adjoining flat had minimal damage and they had to work hard to get to $70,000 damage. The neighbour (A) grizzled on for 18 months he wanted a rebuild. When State came and confirmed to my aunt she was a rebuild they said they needed the Insurance company and Claim number from her neighbour. He refused to provide it unless he was going to get a rebuild. Eventually my aunt's son, (J), met A at the pub and told him to get on with providing the details which he reluctantly did. State contacted A's insurer and they did a combined inspection and found my Aunt's flat could not be rebuilt without rebuilding A's flat. State wants to get a few things tidied up and begin the rebuild but now A wants all sorts of changes and is holding up the rebuild even longer. In this case the delay is the greed and demands of A who has now asked my aunt to change the mode of tenure from Crosslease to Unit Title which may benefit A but has no or very little benefit to my aunt. If anything, they should change the mode of tenure to Fee Simple and she no longer needs to deal with A. Not all delays are the fault of the Insurance Company. As an aside, I am still waiting to be paid out but am not worried too much as I was able to pay for most of the repairs and can wait until I do receive the claim money to finish the rest of the repairs, unlike a lot of people.

23/09/2012 5:32:03 p.m.

Sarah wrote:

I too am in the same boat. $1m dollar plus claim. I have spent almost $40,000 in keeping my insurance company State Insurance honest- still no settlement and now into our third year. It is appauling that we have to go to these lengths to protect ourselves from the very companies that are there to supposedly help us in our greatest hour of need. It is time for the private insurance industry to step out of catastrophe property insurance they simply cannot be trusted.

21/09/2012 9:55:57 a.m.

Maurice Flitter wrote:

A LAW change is required here to limit insurers stalling tactics.

21/09/2012 9:39:09 a.m.

Christine wrote:

I just hope that Chch people will soon be able to get there houses or business sorted. I know it has been awhile but I feel confident all things will come together and ppl will be much happier. Chch will never be the same as they donce knew it but maybe better for the future.

21/09/2012 7:57:06 a.m.

Awaiting Payment Too wrote:

So pleased you showed this story Campbell Live as pressure needs to be placed on insurers to PAY UP. I'm not with Vero, in fact I'm with I.A.G./State Insurance and they haven't paid out on my house or contents yet. My home is valued at $950K and unliveable. Unfortunately, I've been paying a mortgage on my home, plus rent that my savings are almost gone - I can't afford a lawyer like this chap. So many other people in Christchurch are in the same boat - they don't have the funds to fight. The point is, we have been paying our insurance all these years in the expectation that we will be paid out should we suffer a loss - and that is not happening. To residents around the country - sorry that we are 'carping and moaning' (Mr Brownlee's words), but the reality is that if we don't, NOTHING gets done with our claims.

21/09/2012 7:52:18 a.m.

Paula wrote:

I agree with Hilary - thank you Campbell Live. I also know that residents throughout the country must be getting tired of hearing about ChCh and insurers not paying out, but unless people go to the media, they are sitting and waiting. My insurer - IAG/State haven't even paid out on my contents claim yet and although I'm a rebuild, have been using every excuse under the book to get started. Each report that they quote they require seems to take 3-4 months. When it arrives, there is always another excuse just around the corner and that again appears to take 3-4 months. My house is unliveable and I'm paying a mortgage on it - I'm convinced that IAG/State are simply trying to delay things enough to make me desperate to take any offer they throw at me. If it wasn't for Campbell Live insurers would be getting away with this. The rest of NZ and IAG customers around the world, need to be taking note.

21/09/2012 7:38:35 a.m.

Hilary wrote:

I'm in the same boat, but with State Insurance. My rebuild estimate is around $1m and NOTHING has happened - no offer, no settlement, nada. I figure State will have my money invested in OZ (probably at 6%). To be conservative they would be making around $60K per year on it and if they can delay for 5 more years, they make $300K by holding things up. Until the media get involved FOR EVERYONE in Christchurch, nothing is going to happen. I'm sure the rest of NZ are growing tired of these stories, but the truth is that unless people go to the media, they are not getting paid out. Thank you Campbell Live.