Residents seek neutral advice against insurers

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Sat, 19 Nov 2011 6:30p.m.

With crosses the colour of their zoned areas, Christchurch residents marched towards Cera headquarters

With crosses the colour of their zoned areas, Christchurch residents marched towards Cera headquarters

By Juliet Speedy

Hundreds turned out to a rally in Christchurch today to send a message to Cera and the Government.

Hundreds of frustrated Cantabrians gathered holding crosses to represent the colour and burden of the zones they live in.

Evicted resident Mark Hall says they have all got very little for their land and are going to find it very hard to move on.

“We're going to end up with a massive mortgage at our time of our life that we're going to find very hard to service.”

Addington resident Paul Coleman says he has probably taken about two and a half tonne of liquefaction off his property.

“We’ve got liquefaction under our house which is still wet and they're telling us they may or may not lift our house.”

Another frustrated homeowner Richard Lewis says he stands to lose up to $300,000 on his property.

The group marched to the Cera head office leaving the crosses and an open letter asking for urgent help so homeowners do not have to battle their insurers alone.

Some have been fighting their insurers for over a year since September’s quake.

“It still has no water, we can't live in it, our insurers, state insurance have done absolutely nothing to help us, we haven't received one dollar from our insurers,” Sarah Miles says of her home.

Everyone here is fighting their own battle but as a group they want action, namely a Canterbury ombudsman instated who can listen to their cases.

Reverend Mike Coleman, from the wider earthquake communties’ action network, says the Government needs to do something.

“People have got nowhere to go to get decent advocacy, neutral advocacy.”

The earthquakes may be dying down but the battles for some are anything but.

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Comments

20 Nov 2011 07:16p.m.

Red Zoner wrote:

Hey Chris, maybe you should focus on learning to write then your comments might actually be valid. We don't want sympathy we want, honesty and not to be ham strung. It's a shame that it takes a squeaky wheel to achieve anything, but it does. People like Chris are the loudest moaners when things go wrong for them, because they can't see past their own noses.

19 Nov 2011 11:24p.m.

Pops wrote:

Awesome people power manifesting day by day. God bless yes :)

19 Nov 2011 08:15p.m.

Chris wrote:

Stop maoaning. You are loseing any sympathy.