Tim Gunn Lawyer

11/09/2023

FLOOD CLAIM ASSISTANCE
If you are having issues with your insurance claim following flooding or adverse weather events here are our tips:

1) Understand your policy. Look at what is covered or excluded under your policy. If you don’t understand the jargon ask the insurer to explain what it means.

2) Understand the damage to your house or commercial property. You need to undertake your own independent assessment of the damage (Step One) and what is required to restore your property to its pre-damage condition (Step Two). It is important not to confuse Step One and Two. They are different, but related, questions. Overall, a policy owner should be engaging engineers, builders or quantity surveyors to comment and advise what you need to do.

3) Understand the numbers. If your insurance company is offering you a payout you need to understand and test the figures that they are relying upon. This means getting your own independent assessment of the amounts offered. Make sure you get a builder or quantity surveyor to comment and advise what it will cost to do the remedial work needed.

4) The number one advice is to always double-check the numbers. The experience of many homeowners is that the amounts offered by the insurers are far too low to allow you to adequately repair your damaged property.

04/09/2023

It is extremely disappointing that the draft Insurance Contracts Bill and the well-publicised changes to insurance law have not eventuated.

There is a very real sense of deja vu as the Government has repeatedly failed to deliver on these much-needed changes.

This marks the fifth time that these, or similar, changes have been proposed.

The latest version was the closest we have gotten to modernising our insurance law by removing some archaic, unbalanced and unfair insurance laws that disadvantage policyholders.

16/05/2023

02/05/2023

I am now being contacted daily about the more difficult insurance cases arising out of the landslips, floods, cyclones and other adverse weather events earlier in the year. I am noticing that the Auckland Council's red sticker process is adding a difficult component to an already stressful burden on homeowners.

The processing times and responses for the general flood damage claims are also starting to slow down. Just a reminder that all parties are working hard to resolve disputes and settle claims in a timely manner.

If you need help with your claim please get in touch today.

20/03/2023

Do you have a flood damage claim? We specialise in helping homeowners and business owners with insurance claims.

We can help you to interpret and apply your policy so that you can maximise the fair and reasonable entitlement under your policy.

Call us today to discuss your claim.

29/01/2023

We are specialist Insurance Lawyers. We help homeowners and policy holders to get the maximum benefit under their insurance policy.

Please get in touch if you have any insurance questions following the latest natural disaster across Auckland.

14/12/2022

Another case of an unreasonable insurer declining a claimant in a desperate situation.

A Hamilton woman saved by brain surgery is fighting the insurer that declined her claim under her life and critical condition insurance policy.

22/05/2022

Geoff Bagnall was left on a sickness benefit after insurer AIA claimed he had earned tens of thousands of dollars while receiving income protection payments.

24/11/2021

If you have an insurance dispute or any other litigation issue give me a call for a free initial consultation. I have a track record of achieving great outcomes and always providing sound pragmatic advice.

14/11/2021

I had a good chat to Alison Mau about mental health and insurance.

OPINION: Mental health and insurance is a massively thorny issue - one that's been hanging around without much action for decades, with reform first called for back in the 1990s.

01/11/2021

As a sole practitioner, I had some experience of remote working from a home office. However, the current lockdowns have forced some complex adjustments.

The most notable change is having my once safe and quiet space being invaded by hoards of virtual people.

I have learnt that in the business world there are lots of meetings.

There are so many meetings that they all given different and descriptive names. For example, there are huddles, stand-ups and roundtables. Unfortunately, in the age of zoom, the only meeting type is a sit-down.

As an unintentional bystander to many of these meetings, I have a new appreciation for business decision making. In the business world, decision making appears to occur by discussion and consensus. And I mean a lot of discussions.

This is not a top down model. Instead, people from across the business are asked for input, and that input is actively listened to, appreciated and then considered.

The best decision is then made, and it also has the support and endorsement of all those that helped make it.

My take away from this experience is that the practice of law needs to adopt some of these lessons. These apply within a practice and also with interactions with clients.

We need to listen more. We need to discuss more. We need to avoid applying a top down decision making model that prevents discussion and consensus. Let's bring the client and colleague along the decision making journey. That way we too can make the best decisions that everyone can support and endorse.

Meeting over.

19/09/2021

Lockdown restrictions create some difficult employment law questions. We are available to answer all your Employment Law questions.