‘No honour’: Taliban trusted over insurer
Southern Response is less trustworthy than the Afghan Taliban, says a former United Nations worker who negotiated with the militant regime and is now locked in an insurance battle in Christchurch.
Karl and Rebecca Maddaford’s earthquake-damaged home is contaminated with toxic mould, which they say was caused by liquefaction under the floor.
The couple say delays and mismanagement by Southern Response have led to the mould triggering illness, ruining more than
$100,000 worth of their belongings and forcing them and their children out of their Richmond property. They believe they may hold the last outstanding
February 2011 earthquake contents claim in Canterbury.
Southern Response says ‘‘damage caused by rot, gradual deterioration or mildew is not covered’’.
Karl Maddaford negotiated with the Taliban in southern Afghanistan to build a new road through a valley while he was working as a United Nations program manager from
2004 to 2009.
For some meetings he would meet Taliban members in a car park on Kabul’s outskirts before being taken, blindfolded, in their car to meet the local commander in a walled compound.
He has seen Taliban atrocities in post-United States invasion Afghanistan, but was prepared to trust them because the Taliban commander followed a traditional honour code known as pashtunwali.
‘‘I bet my life on his word,’’ he said. ‘‘I was prepared to put my life in their hands based on the fact that if they told me they were going to honour something, they did it. It’s a shame I can’t say the same about an insurance company here in the developed world.
‘‘[The Taliban’s] culture was built on honour, but it has become very apparent to thousands of us that a lot of the insurers in Christchurch will do anything to get out of honouring their policies.’’
If the Maddafords want to enter their home, they have to wear masks, latex gloves and coveralls. The toxic mould has contaminated wedding photos, family heirlooms, clothes and toys belonging to their three children.
Liquefaction sprang up around and under the house in the 2011 earthquakes. Rebecca Maddaford, a registered nurse, has counted 78 presentations to the doctor or hospital by the family for respiratory illness or symptoms related to toxic mould since the earthquakes.
Southern Response appointed a contractor to remove the liquefaction under their home and clean out any mould, but when the family returned after the work, their illness worsened.
The Crown insurer commissioned a mould spore count test on the home in 2014. An employee from the company conducting the test rang Karl Maddaford with the results.
‘‘He said ‘Get out. These are dangerously high levels of toxic mould’,’’ Karl Maddaford said.
‘‘All we could take with us was a small bag of clothes each.’’
A second contractor was appointed by Southern Response to clear the mould, but went into receivership before the work was completed.
The couple learnt the company had folded when a receiver, who had found boxes of their possessions in a storage unit rented by the company, called them. Some of the boxes tested positive for black mould. ‘‘They were just about to give all of our possessions to police as unclaimed goods, which is a short trip from there to the tip,’’ said Karl Maddaford.
Southern Response told the family to return their possessions to their home, which they did. The house has been sealed with all their belongings inside since 2014.
In October, Southern Response said their contents claim would not be paid out because it was gradual deterioration rather than catastrophic damage.
Southern Response chief executive Anthony Honeybone did not respond to Karl Maddaford’s claim his company was less trustworthy than the Taliban. He also did not respond to questions about the Maddafords’ contents claim. ‘‘Before Southern Response can accept a claim for contents, we require our customers to provide an itemised list of the contents, proof of ownership and value of the claimed items,’’ he said.
‘‘There also needs to be evidence that the items are damaged due to the Canterbury earthquakes of 2010 and 2011. Under the AMI contents policy, damage caused by rot, gradual deterioration or mildew is not covered.
‘‘Southern Response respects customers’ privacy and is not able to publicly comment in greater detail on individual claims.’’
Rebecca Maddaford said the battle with Southern Response had cast a shadow over their lives.
‘‘It didn’t have to be like this. This means the effects of the quakes will be with us for the rest of our lives.’’
‘‘[The Taliban’s] culture was built on honour . . . a lot of the insurers in Christchurch will do anything to get out of honouring their policies.’’
Karl Maddaford