CanterburyRebuild
MARKPROSSER B U I L D E R S
L I M I T E D
It’s not just bricks and mortar
it’s part of your life Mark Prosser Builders is an award winning building company accomodating the Christchurch and regional areas. Our reputation has been built on excellent craftsmanship and service which has been provided to satisfied customers for the past 25 years.
Featured Home This home was built to accommodate a large family with busy teenage children. Situated in Ohoka, this home compliments its surroundings with a remarkable use of timber. At the entrance, you are welcomed by a magnificent jarrah staircase which directs you to either the guest wing, living and lounge or kitchen areas downstairs or the five bedrooms upstairs. The painstakingly recycled kauri fireplace surround, in the lounge, commands your attention and is a wonderful talking point. Each room is divided with solid cedar doors. The floors through out the living, kitchen and laundry are kwila and all rooms are finished with overheight rimu skirtings. A wonderfully warm and comfortable home which exudes elegance and quality but is practical and welcoming to family and friends.
National Award Winner
We Specialise In
Each year master builders from all over Christchurch and the wider Canterbury area enter their workmanship in the Registered Master Builders House of the Year competition. Recognising excellence, quality and innovation in building, the receipt of an award in this prestigious competition is a goal every professional builder aspires to.
Delivering projects
And my personal Guarantee of Quality in every facet of the work we do for our clients.
Mark Prosser - Builder
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TO EXPECTATIONS ON TIME ON BUDGET GUARANTEED
We have the experience to make this happen.
plus! • Alteration Specialists • Architectural Home Builders • House and Land Packages • Interior & Landscape Design
RING ANYTIME TO DISCUSS YOUR BUILD Cell: 021 221 3300
email: office@markprosserbuilders.co.nz Above Holmwood Shops Phone: 356 2497
MARKPROSSER B U I L D E R S
L I M I T E D
www.markprosserbuilders.co.nz 6 July 2013 Canterbury Rebuild
In battle know your enemy Whenever I watch Campbell Live and the interviews of Christchurch homeowners struggling to get anywhere with EQC or their private insurers, it’s hard not to be moved by the emotional state, desperation, and utter powerlessness that each and every one of these people are experiencing. For some coincidental reason (yeah right) EQC and insurers miraculously seem to be able to resolve things shortly after the nation has viewed the plight of these few, even though the homeowners themselves have gotten nowhere for months if not years. As you well know, the insurance battleground is a complex and fraught environment and if it’s not properly understood, though perhaps more importantly if the fight is not entered into with the right strategy and with the right army, then the results for the unprepared and untrained are likely to be catastrophic. Sun Tzu, a Chinese military general, strategist and tactician, in his military text which was later translated into The Art of War says; “if you know the enemy and know yourself, you need not fear the result of a hundred battles”. Knowing the enemy enables you to take the offensive, and knowing yourself enables you to stand on the defensive. Given the way EQC and insurers are behaving, there will need to be a number of battles fought to get you a fair and proper settlement, and my interpretation of the Sun Tzu principle is that to truly know the (insurance) enemy requires the knowledge, expertise and input of a multi-discipline team. The team we’ve used has seen loss adjustors, claim managers, structural engineers, geotechnical engineers, foundation specialists, house removers, quantity surveyors, and lawyers all being used for different areas of the battle. The key is that they need to be used in a structured and co-ordinated manner so that the offensive can be taken to the insurer with impact. This team also needs to have the knowledge, confidence and capability to defend your entitlements when they’re challenged by the enemy.....which as you know will happen.
Hoani Hipango
It’s not an easy task if it’s to be done right, it’s certainly not quick, and it’s plagued with moving lines of battle as the enemy changes the rules of engagement, but I believe it’s essential to have the proper team to fight for you if your intention is to win the war. What we’ve finding now however is that we’re approaching a point where people are losing the will to fight. They’ve battled for so long to get anywhere and in the face of constant rejection and with little hope, more and more people are accepting defeat because they simply don’t know how to win or they simply don’t want fight any longer. This is a particularly dangerous time as any surrender will play into the hands of EQC and private insurers who will gladly set the terms of the post battle settlement. When I’m asked by people in this situation what they should do, I respond with the following questions; How much do you think you stand to lose? What impact would that have on you and your family? Would that worry you? Could you live with that loss? If someone else could fight for you, would you continue? While everyone’s situation is different, the responses to these questions are all pretty much the same and we’ve yet to meet anyone who says they are willing and happy to give up the fight. They’re just resigned themselves to that fact that they can’t win.....but in reality they can. Hoani Hipango is a partner at Proclaims Management. Proclaims is a Christchurch claims consultancy, whose business processes have been developed in line with international insurance industry practices and with the input of globally acknowledged insurance law experts. To discuss your situation contact Hoani on 943 7144 or hoani.hipango@proclaims.co.nz to