Whanganui Chronicle
  • Whanganui Chronicle home
  • Latest news
  • Sport
  • Business
  • Opinion
  • Lifestyle
  • Property
  • Death notices
  • Classifieds

Subscriptions

  • Herald Premium
  • Viva Premium
  • The Listener
  • BusinessDesk

Sections

  • Latest news
  • On The Up
  • Sport
  • Business
  • Opinion
  • Lifestyle
  • Property
    • All Property
    • Residential property listings
  • Rural
    • All Rural
    • Dairy farming
    • Sheep & beef farming
    • Horticulture
    • Animal health
    • Rural business
    • Rural life
    • Rural technology

Locations

  • Taranaki
  • National Park
  • Whakapapa
  • Ohakune
  • Raetihi
  • Taihape
  • Marton
  • Feilding
  • Palmerston North

Media

  • Video
  • Photo galleries
  • Today's Paper - E-Editions
  • Photo sales
  • Classifieds

Weather

  • New Plymouth
  • Whanganui
  • Palmertson North
  • Levin

NZME Network

  • Advertise with NZME
  • OneRoof
  • Driven Car Guide
  • BusinessDesk
  • Newstalk ZB
  • Sunlive
  • ZM
  • The Hits
  • Coast
  • Radio Hauraki
  • The Alternative Commentary Collective
  • Gold
  • Flava
  • iHeart Radio
  • Hokonui
  • Radio Wanaka
  • iHeartCountry New Zealand
  • Restaurant Hub
  • NZME Events

SubscribeSign In

Advertisement
Advertise with NZME.
Home / Whanganui Chronicle

Smashed fences push up insurance costs for Whanganui home owner

Liz Wylie
Whanganui Chronicle·
4 May, 2017 05:02 PM3 mins to read

Subscribe to listen

Access to Herald Premium articles require a Premium subscription. Subscribe now to listen.
Already a subscriber?  

Listening to articles is free for open-access content—explore other articles or learn more about text-to-speech.
‌
Save
    Share this article
Tawhero resident Sandra Watson is fed up with vehicles crashing in to her front fence. Photo Stuart Munro

Tawhero resident Sandra Watson is fed up with vehicles crashing in to her front fence. Photo Stuart Munro

A Whanganui home owner is having her front fence repaired for the second time in six months after speeding drivers smashed into it.

Now her insurance company says her excess payments will increase from $400 to $1000.

Sandra Watson, who lives in Tawhero where Totara Street intersects with Fitzherbert Avenue believes she is being penalised for a situation she is unable to control.

"There are signs warning drivers to slow down for the bend but they either don't see them or choose to ignore them," she told the Wanganui Chronicle.

"My fence has been taken out eight times in the 14 years that I've lived here.
"Twice in six months is getting ridiculous."

Advertisement
Advertise with NZME.
Advertisement
Advertise with NZME.

Ms Watson has asked Whanganui District Council to address the problem, but roading engineer Rui Leitao says speed bumps are not appropriate at the corner.

Hpwever, he said he would investigate the causes of the crashes and undertake the appropriate action.

Although Ms Watson has been able to claim the excess amounts from drivers who had damaged her fence, some of them did not have insurance.

Advertisement
Advertise with NZME.

"One driver went to court and was ordered to pay reparation, but some crashes have happened when I wasn't here so I've come home to a smashed fence."

The most recent collision has more than doubled Sandra Watson's insurance excess amount.
The most recent collision has more than doubled Sandra Watson's insurance excess amount.

Insurance Council of New Zealand chief executive Tim Grafton said the practice of increasing premiums or excess payments was standard and ensured that insurance remained affordable for everyone.

"A principle of insurance is to provide protection to customers for loss or damage arising from sudden and unforeseen events."

He said where claim history suggested the cause was no longer sudden and unforeseen it became a case of when it would happen again, rather than if it would happen.

"This example highlights the need for loss prevention rather than loss compensation," he said.

"The property owner is doing the right thing by trying to get local government to look at the road design."

Ms Watson said she was also concerned for the safety of schoolchildren in the area.

"There are three schools nearby and I worry that if cars are coming on to the footpath to hit a fence, they could easily hit a child."

The contractor repairing Ms Watson's fence did not wish to be named but said there was no way to make the fence resistant to vehicle damage.

He said a metal barrier placed on the bend at the intersection would solve the problem.

Advertisement
Advertise with NZME.
Save
    Share this article

Latest from Whanganui Chronicle

Whanganui Chronicle

'Just the beginning': New exploration experience launches in Whanganui

19 Sep 10:00 PM
Premium
OpinionGareth Carter

Gareth Carter: Grow your own strawberries

19 Sep 05:00 PM
Whanganui Chronicle

Done deal: Rural reserve handed to community group

19 Sep 05:00 PM

Sponsored

Kiwi campaign keeps on giving

07 Sep 12:00 PM
Advertisement
Advertise with NZME.

Latest from Whanganui Chronicle

'Just the beginning': New exploration experience launches in Whanganui
Whanganui Chronicle

'Just the beginning': New exploration experience launches in Whanganui

It is the latest step in Whanganui's long-term strategy to connect people with the city.

19 Sep 10:00 PM
Premium
Premium
Gareth Carter: Grow your own strawberries
OpinionGareth Carter

Gareth Carter: Grow your own strawberries

19 Sep 05:00 PM
Done deal: Rural reserve handed to community group
Whanganui Chronicle

Done deal: Rural reserve handed to community group

19 Sep 05:00 PM


Kiwi campaign keeps on giving
Sponsored

Kiwi campaign keeps on giving

07 Sep 12:00 PM
NZ Herald
  • About NZ Herald
  • Meet the journalists
  • Newsletters
  • Classifieds
  • Help & support
  • Contact us
  • House rules
  • Privacy Policy
  • Terms of use
  • Competition terms & conditions
  • Our use of AI
Subscriber Services
  • Whanganui Chronicle e-edition
  • Manage your print subscription
  • Manage your digital subscription
  • Subscribe to Herald Premium
  • Subscribe to the Whanganui Chronicle
  • Gift a subscription
  • Subscriber FAQs
  • Subscription terms & conditions
  • Promotions and subscriber benefits
NZME Network
  • Whanganui Chronicle
  • The New Zealand Herald
  • The Northland Age
  • The Northern Advocate
  • Waikato Herald
  • Bay of Plenty Times
  • Rotorua Daily Post
  • Hawke's Bay Today
  • Viva
  • NZ Listener
  • Newstalk ZB
  • BusinessDesk
  • OneRoof
  • Driven Car Guide
  • iHeart Radio
  • Restaurant Hub
NZME
  • NZME Events
  • About NZME
  • NZME careers
  • Advertise with NZME
  • Digital self-service advertising
  • Book your classified ad
  • Photo sales
  • © Copyright 2025 NZME Publishing Limited
TOP