Ashburton Guardian, Thursday, June 25, 2020

Page 1

Thursday, June 25, 2020

Since Sept 27, 1879

Retail $2.20 Home delivered from $1.40

THE INDEPENDENT VOICE OF MID CANTERBURY

Strong start

Once upon a time P3

P16

AMI shutting shop front By Sue Newman

sue.n@theguardian.co.nz

Making an insurance claim will soon become a much less personal undertaking for many people in the Ashburton community. Planning is under way to close Ashburton’s AMI store and to move the company’s business to digital and call centres and that will see 53 bricks and mortar stores close across New Zealand.

The closure announcement came as a shock to long serving AMI employee Veronica Rabbitt. She notched up 42 years with the company, 27 of those in Ashburton. She retired as branch manager five years ago. Closing the Ashburton store would be a blow for older people, many of whom enjoyed calling in to pay a bill and stop for a chat, she said.

“When I was there it was busy with a lot of foot traffic and it will be missed in Ashburton where people like to talk face-to-face. This has come as quite a shock,” Rabbitt said. In the Ashburton office a large number of claims related to weather damage and people appreciated the opportunity to talk face-to-face with insurance staff, she said.

“We had a great office and a good crowd to work with, but things change and you have to accept that. They wouldn’t be doing this unless it was the right thing to do.” The change is one that won’t be undertaken until communities and staff have had an opportunity to have a say on the closures and what the impact on their insurance needs might be, said exec-

utive manager for external communications Cara Mygind. Consultation with affected employees has begun and parent company IAG has confirmed that the stores will close over the coming months.

CONTINUED P2

Police seek information on suspicious behaviour – P3 Gluyas Motor Group

79 Kermode Street | (03) 307 5800 Chris Hart Vehicle Sales Manager Mob 027 439 0887

Ray McLaren Vehicle Sales Mob 027 602 3311 Adam Banks Vehicle Sales Mob 027 312 0028

*T’s & C’s apply

www.gluyasford.nz

Ph 03 307 7900 to subscribe!


Turn static files into dynamic content formats.

Create a flipbook
Issuu converts static files into: digital portfolios, online yearbooks, online catalogs, digital photo albums and more. Sign up and create your flipbook.