Hundreds protest insurance delays

3/09/2012 11:24:02 a.m.

Ed wrote:

Chris Cook, you are absolutely 'spot on'. A lot of residents on the other side of town simply don't know how bad it is. I have to say that I was disappointed in the coverage of the protest on Saturday by The Press. There were at least 300 people at the protest - and frankly it made me sad. You could see on the faces of these people, exactly how little their voices have been heard. Meanwhile, we keep hearing 'spin' from Roger Sutton and Gerry Brownlee.

2/09/2012 3:11:16 p.m.

Jenny wrote:

Well done protestors.....yes insurance companies why are you delaying the payouts our Mum & Dad (in their mid 80's)still have no home & are expected to continue paying their hefty insurance premiums...you've done all the tests & cost analysists... just stop the tactics & payout!!!!!!!

2/09/2012 11:52:03 a.m.

Ross Muir wrote:

My inlaws in their 80's have been living with us at whangaparaoa since the feb earthquake. their house isat mt plesant. unihabitable but the Insurance co will not make a decision about payment. rebuild or repair. this is discusting. esp for people of there age. Rosd Muir

2/09/2012 11:12:30 a.m.

Wiseacre wrote:

This is what happens when free-market fundamentalists leave things to market forces. The *market* is just a mechanism - and an excuse - for greed and inefficiency. People are left to suffer while the *market* tries to shirk its responsibilities and minimise its losses. National won't do anything - they are part of the problem.

2/09/2012 11:01:59 a.m.

chris cook wrote:

We had to go over to sumner the other day and drove down Shirley rd, New Brighton rd to Anzac Dr. past the s*** ponds and 'round the bays. WHat a mess . and it appears very little is / has been done apart from underground services. Out here in Belfast we have the odd hump in the road where Toby boxes are poking up . And all we hear in the news is central rebuild, central city, getting business back to the CBD. The whole govt apparatus, both national and local seem to be focused on the wealth creators and in the case of the central govt that means "their mates". . . the people living in Shirley and Brighton . .looks like FU Charlie, we've got political party donators to see right.. That probably isn't the case, but it's sure looking and sounding like it.

2/09/2012 9:50:10 a.m.

Helene Proctor wrote:

As a photographer, I've been all over Christchurch taking photos of some of the broken homes and broken lives in parts of the city. It is surreal as you could divide the city in half - the hill districts and the east are still in a bad shape and some streets have people living in their garages etc. It is disgusting that the people in charge of the city are talking about about how the rebuild is going ahead - they even built a new rugby stadium - while people are living like this. I'm heading to the UK shortly and taking my photos with me - people simply wouldn't believe some of the sights of seen. People are broken, spirits are broken and the private insurers and the EQC are to blame. I have no idea why CERA, who were put in charge of things by the Govt, have sat back and done so little. They have brought down buildings, organised a bus tour of the CBD, organised cycle tours of the CBD - all this while people are still waiting for their homes to be fixed or insurance sums paid out so people can move on.

2/09/2012 9:45:36 a.m.

Waiting too long wrote:

Well done protesters - I hear that there is another one organised for Feb 22nd. People around the country need to know what is NOT happening in Christchurch. The powers that be (CERA, EQC and private insurers) have done very little for the PEOPLE. People are still living in miserable conditions and nothing is being done to speed up the process. I can attest to this as I've been living away from my home since Feb's quake and my insurer - State - still haven't paid out on my home or contents. I have paid full replacement insurance for the last 35 years and have had only one claim (a bird flew through a window 10 years ago and broke it). Insurers have been allowed to get away with this behaviour. If you are with State and live in other parts of the country, you really need to know how they perform when you really need them the most. They have let down the people of Canterbury. I read an article yesterday where IAG state that they care about people's plight and want to do more. That is absolute 'spin' - if they wanted to do more, they would speed things up. I received a report recently - my engineer's report on my house that State had solicited. I had been phoning, chasing this report for months. I received it last week and it was dated 5 months ago. The Insurance Council is doing absolutely nothing about the number of breaches to the Insurance Act - the Govt are doing nothing - insurers are getting away with it. We know that you are tired of hearing our plight, but we need you to see that this could and will happen to you if nothing is done to stop it.

2/09/2012 9:37:38 a.m.

Paula wrote:

I know that people around the country don't quite understand what is happening down here. The Govt (CERA) is doing a great 'spin' job about the rebuild (or should I say plans for a rebuild), but people are still living in broken houses almost 2 years on. My house was broken in two (in Redcliffs). We had full replacement insurance on a 350 sq mtr house and to date, my house is still sitting there broken and I'm renting. I should also say that I'm paying a mortgage on my home, plus partial rates and insurance on it. My insurer - State Insurance - took a year to announce that it was a 'rebuild'. For the last nine months they have been telling me that they need to establish the cost to rebuild and I'm still no closer to being able to move on with my life. State Insurance inform me that my options under my full, comprehensive policy is to take an indemnity cash payout (half my home's value) or, gee, I can wait until they can approve either a rebuild on my home or elsewhere. If I elect to go elsewhere, I will have to purchase the section. They won't allow me to simply buy an existing home for what it would cost to rebuild on my current site. That's way too quick and way too simply, even though it would save them heaps of money as my land requires a huge amount of work, ie extra deep foundations into rock, etc. State Insurance keep saying that they want to work with people in order to speed things up - that's what they say publicly, but their customers down here in ChCh know otherwise. To those in other parts of the country, go online and see the latest results of the survey into insurers performance after the quake. I believe that Lumleys rated well, but IAG/State was voted THE worst.

2/09/2012 9:30:29 a.m.

Hilary wrote:

I'm so proud of this group. They represent a large number of residents - who have paid high insurance premiums for years - only to be 'left hanging'. I know that State Insurance have yet to pay our contents claim from Feb 2011 and as for our house - it has taken 19 months to simply hear it's a rebuild. Great, at this rate, I'll be able to rebuild my house in 10 years. Enough is enough, the Govt need to step in and get insurers moving on paying out claims. If you live in other parts of NZ, if this has happened to us, it could happen to you.

2/09/2012 9:23:06 a.m.

Murray wrote:

We are in TC3 area outside the CCC in
the Selywn Distict council along the
Halswell River. We are in never land
but if I want to build a house there
are no problem with the correct
foundation etc. One house is finished
two are under constuction so all
this stalling is bullshit !

M.O.Hely 03 3296891