* (DYNAMIC MUSIC) Tonight - deep trouble. I just broke down. I couldn't stop crying. We take on the digger driver... (VOICE ON PHONE) ...who dug and dug... and then ditched his unhappy customer. He's dug it all up. It's all gone. He's just ruined it. Plus, how confident are you on getting an insurance payout? So far, so good. Pretty sure I haven't had a prostate disorder. Could you fall victim to an honest mistake? This was really intense. As someone who used to work on Fair Go,... (IMITATES WARNING BELLS) And the fate of our waste. Every decision you make has to be thought of with the future in mind. Are you really a tidy Kiwi? That, I'm convinced, is paper or edible. Yeah, it is very confusing. Copyright Able 2018 Kia ora. Welcome to the show. Little slip-ups can have disastrous consequences, especially when a digger in involved. They're the heavyweights of demolition and can make short work of clearing a property. But what happens when your digger driver ploughs into the job with a bit too much enthusiasm? Here's Gill. (GRUNTS) Ooh! Anyway... (GRUNTS) Anna Loveridge is in deep trouble. I'm running out of places to put it. Every time it rains, she sees her land slowly washing away. Hopefully it won't flow out into the gutters any more. She says her problem's all down to a digger and a botched job. He was just going to come up here, clear behind the retaining wall so that I could plant again with all the low-growing stuff. He was going to take a nob of soil just there and put it over there. But the digger kept on digging. I just broke down. I couldn't stop crying. I said, 'Where is the land gone?' Anna says he damaged sewerage and wastewater pipes ` both hers and her neighbours'. Terraces were cut without asking, and over 1000m3 of soil was dumped on her build platform. We're standing on a pile of dirt that was as high as my house. This is not meant to be here. I never told him to do this. More soil was dumped on the neighbours' land, and to top it off, clay ran right into another house below. I feel really bad for the neighbours. She's full of emotion. He's dug it all up. It's all gone! There were roses down there that were about 50 years old, and he's just ruined it. The digger, Jason Finlay, was pretty emotional too, but a different kind. Her story starts with the Christchurch home she'd always dreamt of. As a social worker, she had to work hard for it. That was my forever home. And who lived in the house? My daughter and I moved in, and emergency respite children too, because it was just such a lovely environment for them. Then familiar tale ` the earthquake took that home away. It was pulled down. Still, she had the chance to rebuild. One of the first steps ` to clear some vegetation. But as we know, it didn't go to plan. It's really really distressing. I gave a guy a chance. I trusted him. Anna's engineer has never before seen a private section dug out like this. The biggest site excavation I've probably ever witnessed in Christchurch, and certainly it's not there's not a general side scrape in the context of what she had instructed. What did you think when you first saw it? Shocked, really, and concerned for the client, because it wasn't going to be a quick fix. Jason had been recommended. He did a couple of jobs without a hitch. So you trusted him? Totally. He told me he'd look after the land. But here's the first problem. Did you get it in writing what he was to do? No, cos he'd done these jobs. In my view, it was only a little job. All he had to do was clear behind the retaining wall. She says she showed Jason the plans and was so confident she went to visit her daughter. But Jason's Facebook post clearly shows he had a very different idea. Could you understand what he was trying to do? Yes. I think his impression was to stabilise the slope in his own mind by cutting these series of terraces. (LINE RINGS) We tried to get Jason's own view of what happened. It wasn't easy. We're trying to establish all the facts now. But I'm just trying to get your side of the story. Well, he did offer to do the right thing at first in October last year, just after it happened, when it could have been sorted for about $50,000. Initially, Jason and his accountant said, 'Yeah, we'll fix it.' I'm like, 'Well, good,' you know, cos it's just ridiculous. But weeks, months went by. And Jason just wouldn't engage. And the site went downhill. Literally. Coming into the winter period, it's very hard to reinstate the slope. It goes from being very hard, stable into mud. It became clear Jason had engaged with his insurers. No liability was accepted, But in March, finally, Anna understood an offer was on its way. We had the quotes and everything And then we just heard nothing. I had a friend of mine went in to lawyer's office, and they said` they rang my lawyer and said, 'Oh, it's really uncomfortable 'having a support person for Anna coming in here. It just made us feel really uncomfortable.' And I was like, 'Well.. 'I don't have a home. 'How uncomfortable is that? 'The people up the back don't have a toilet. 'These people down here have got clay running into their kids' bedroom downstairs.' 'How uncomfortable do you think this is for everybody else?' Hi. How are you? Oh, I'm sorry, I stood on your toe. She relies on friends for support, and she needed it. As each week passed, the bills were mounting. I thought, 'Right. I'm going to email to email Fair Go, cos I don't know what else to do.' And wouldn't you know it ` once we were on the case, things started to happen. The lawyer for the insurance company rang my lawyer and said, 'Oh, we're looking at making an offer to Anna.' Do you think that was a coincidence? Absolutely not. I still would not have heard from them, Gill. I wouldn't have heard a dicky bird. Another two weeks passed. The costs were now well over $200,000, but still no actual offer. And our call with Jason didn't shed much light. But then a letter from NZI. It showed the lawyers were talking, but no settlement has been reached, so it's still a waiting game. This is ridiculous. There's five affected properties here. It's not my responsibility to fix this. Jason had insurance through NZI. That's who needs to fix it. (SIGHS) Well, two pieces of advice come to mind ` a) that's no way to talk to someone on the telephone, and b) if you do make an error, fix it straight away. Cos winter's coming now. It's only going to get worse. Awful. Look, NZI tell us... All right. Coming up after the break ` could an honest mistake kill your chance of an insurance payout? Pretty sure I haven't had a prostate disorder. Beware of the non-disclosure insurance trap. Disorder of the eyes, ears. I mean, you have ear aches, but you wouldn't write that down, would you? An honest mistake can cost you. This was really intense. And the world is choking on waste. Are you really a tidy Kiwi? That, I'm convinced, is paper or edible. (LAUGHTER) # Lazy days... # (WHOOPING) (LAUGHTER) (ENGINE REVS) What have you got under the hood, bro? What?! Shush! What's under the hood? You wouldn't believe me. (ALL EXCLAIM) (INTRIGUING MUSIC) (TYRES SCREECH, MEN EXCLAIM, CAR WHIRRS) (BOTH LAUGH) Welcome back. Imagine being diagnosed with a life-threatening condition and then discovering your insurance company won't pay out because you forgot to tell them something. Disclosure, or should that be non-disclosure, is a major problem that is ruining the lives of everyday Kiwis. Here's Hannah. (UPBEAT MUSIC) We asked ordinary Kiwis how much they knew about their own health. Pretty much everything. Oh, I would say reasonable. I know a fair bit, yeah. And then we asked them to look at this insurance questionnaire. Well I wouldn't know everything from there. No. You wouldn't? No, I don't even know what that means. Uh, pretty in-depth questions. I would say not easy. Oh, I'd give up. I probably couldn't answer most of these, though. We're also testing some of our colleagues. Abnormal or high cholesterol ` no. Not yet. Disorders of the ears. So far, so good. Pretty sure I haven't had a prostate disorder. 11 ` legs ` 11. They're looking at the same questionnaire... Oh, there's 11b as well. ...which Shane Laker had to fill out for his income protection insurance from Partners Life. He didn't mention that he'd had high blood pressure and high cholesterol readings. It was not significant to me. I didn't have it. I don't remember it. Or that he'd been tested for sleep apnoea. Mild sleep apnoea that I have been diagnosed with is totally irrelevant. But when Shane developed the painful nerve condition trigeminal neuralgia and was unable to work,... I was in bed for 20 hours a day. ...Shane's insurers turned down his claim. They'd gone through all his medical notes and found the undisclosed information, saying that together, these issues made him too risky to have been insured in the first place. It's not fair. It's rubbish. Shane did note that he smoked, how many drinks he had and a family history of breast cancer. I did fill it out to the` to the best of my ability, honestly. When Shane's case went to the insurance ombudsman, they supported Partners Life. But we reckon there's a problem with this type of insurance questionnaire. Awful. I never like a questionnaire, and I don't like this one. This was really intense. Feel like I need someone with me to say, to ask, 'What do you mean by this?' I was just overwhelmed that I almost didn't want to do it. Ridiculous. It's far too much. It feels like a trap. Shane's insurer, Partners Life, had told us that the application form was... Did our guinea pigs agree? No. No. There's a lot of language in there that most people wouldn't immediately be able to understand. I mean, you have ear aches, but is that...? You wouldn't write that down, would you? Can I remember having a conversation with the doctor about my eczema? No, I can't. But you might have? But I might have. And it might be in his notes. Could be in his notes. I don't know that. And I think you definitely need a medical professional to help you navigate that. To be honest, I wouldn't do it. You wouldn't fill it out? No. But then I wouldn't have insurance. As someone who used to work on Fair Go,... (IMITATES WARNING BELLS) Such questionnaires also set off alarms for insurance law specialist Karl Robinson. I couldn't sit down now and tell you every time I've been to the doctor and what it was for. And you won't know what the doctor's put in their notes, but those notes are what your insurer checks when you make a claim. Since they're so critical, why don't insurers check the notes before they sign you up? They don't want to. Because? Because they'd rather not know. Cos they've taken your word for it, and they don't need to know. They can put it back in their file, and then they can pull it out when it comes to claim time. So they've got a safety net, basically? That's right. Karl suggests using a broker to make yourself a bit safer when applying for insurance and... Write on the insurance application form that you authorise the insurer to access your medical records and to consider them in your insurance application. And if you're not sure, don't just say no or leave the box blank. That's disclosure. Doesn't matter if it's innocent or accidental. It can still mean no insurance cover. I could answer one question right now without contacting my doctor or getting a hold of the notes. And all the rest? Forget about it, because I've forgotten. There needs to be a reform of the laws around innocent non-disclosure. That's happened in the UK, that's happened in Australia, and it needs to happen here too. We've been covering this issue with various insurance companies for decades. There was the young widow whose husband was shot dead but whose claim was initially denied because he'd failed to tell insurers he'd been a smoker. Another woman was told 'no cover' after her husband's fatal heart attack because the couple didn't realised that the question 'any vascular disorder?' meant 'any high blood pressure?' 20 years of talk. Why no action? Well, there's some powerful business interests behind insurance companies, and they've got an incentive for the law to remain as it is. So it's that simple? I think so. I think insurance companies are in a position now where they probably feel they have to be proactive. Six months into the job, Kris Faafoi's announced a full review of insurance law, with a warning to insurers. They'd better start moving now before they are forced to take action by virtue of legislation. Top of his list ` protecting people like Shane, who've made innocent or accidental mistakes. I don't think that that they should have a claim blocked by something that is unrelated to the claim itself. So making sure we get that right is important. Kris is also keen to simplify insurance language ` this sort of thing. READS: 'Please indicate below by ticking the box...' '...if you are currently suffering from... '...experiencing symptoms of or are being treated for... '...If you've ever suffered from or had symptoms of... '...or had treatment for any of the following.' What does that even mean? There are like 15 different points in that one sentence. (LAUGHS) What I do fear is that New Zealanders aren't quite understanding what they're getting themselves up to and signing themselves up to. The insurance law review needs submissions now from people like Shane and from the dozens of you who got in touch after Shane's story, saying: We expect to get quite a lot of feedback of some of those frustrating and horror cases that consumers have had. The industry know that as we do it we mean business because we want to make sure that the market operates efficiently and that consumers are treated fairly. And there was a final eureka moment from one of our guinea pigs about his own insurance cover. I think I might go and find the forms that I've filled in and look at them and make sure I've done a good enough job of them, because something is telling me right now that I haven't. (LAUGHS) You're not going to hear me say this often, but Matt Chisholm is right. (LAUGHS) Yes. Go back through your questionnaire, contact your insurance company if you've got any doubts about your medical history. Yes. Just take the time. It's worth noting as well that once you've been denied a claim, it can cause problems with your future insurance cover. And if you want to have your say in this insurance law review, go check out the details on our website and Facebook page. Coming up after the break ` do you really know the fate of your waste? This does not go into your recycling bin. But it is compostable. How good are you at sorting out the trash from treasure? This stuff, I think, is no good for anybody. Recycling makes us feel good, but is it a waste of time? That, I'm convinced, is paper or edible. Yeah, it is very confusing. (BRIGHT, ENERGETIC MUSIC) SONG: # I can make your hands clap... # VOICEOVER: Centrum provides multiple health benefits in just one tablet. . This home is costing at least twice as much to heat... as this one. And it's all down to the choice of heating. Energy-efficient heating systems produce more heat efficiently and cost less to run. Check out the three essentials for a healthy home on our website. * Welcome back. Time for some trash talk! Recycling waste makes us feel good, but is it a waste of time? Do you know where all that rubbish goes? Does it actually get recycled? So many questions, and some of the answers raise serious concerns about the recycling revolution. (UPBEAT MUSIC) Keep it green. Keeps it clean. (LAUGHS) Trash. Oh, it's paper, though. I see how hard it is now. Waste. General waste? Litter. Whatever you call it, you can't ignore this massive, global problem, because more and more of this means our planet looks more and more like this. And although people all over the world are keen to make a difference, are we actually helping or hindering the process? I think the biggest issue with the consumer is that often nobody understands what they're supposed to do with what product. Kim should know. She spends her days thinking about what happens to a product beyond the bin. I think that everybody wants to do the right thing. Most people want to recycle, and so what you do naturally is you put all the things you think or you hope are recyclable into the recycling bin. But unfortunately what it does is it contaminates the recycling. It's even got a name ` wish-cycling. And it's what's led to China recently closing its borders to the rest of the world's waste. China decided it was too hard and too costly to deal with non-recyclable items and contamination from dirty containers. We've ended up with this situation, which is actually kind of good because it's put pressure on the whole industry to find new, sustainable solutions. Solutions like packaging that's meant to be kinder to the planet. It is great to see products being made can be composted or are actually biodegradable, but we need to understand what that really means. George Fietje is a waste warrior for Auckland Council and is keen to clear up some of the confusion. Let's start with this coffee cup. Where does this go? So this coffee cup here ` the base of it ` this will go into your landfill bin. This does not go into your recycling bin. But it's compostable. If it's compostable, unless you can get it into a commercial composting facility, put it into your landfill bin. You heard right. Most compostable cups can't actually go in your compost bin. So if it's commercially composted, it needs to be composted at really high temperatures ` like 60 degrees Celsius ` and that you won't experience in the normal home composting system, so unfortunately this is not going to break down in the home compost system. There are about 98 composting facilities around New Zealand, but only 11 of those are able to process food packaging. So if your compostable container isn't going to one of those 11 facilities, it's just another item heading to landfill. And if you're sitting there right now thinking, 'Gosh, I've been putting my waste in the wrong place,' you're not alone. So I've nabbed a few bins from TVNZ, and what I've got here is a bag full of waste ` things like a coffee cups, plastic container, and what I want to know is can people get the right waste in the right bin? So what goes where? We should be good at this! OK. We should be. Mixed recycling. That one would go in paper. Yeah. Wouldn't it go in that? That` Yeah, because it's got food on it. Wooden? They often give you these because they are... recyclable, don't they? That, I am convinced, is paper or edible. It can go in there. I have no idea for this one. Oh, with the lid as well. It's a compostable lid. It feels green. I'm going to put that in paper. That's got food on it. It does. Do you like the food? I do. I love the food. No expense spared. So I think it's mixed. I put this in my recycling bin, but I wash it. I feel like this is general waste because they are not easily recyclable. That's why they are trying to ban them, I think. This, I think, is no good for anybody. I think that's general waste. I don't think that stuff can be recycled. I don't know. (LAUGHS) I'm sorry, environment, if that is wrong. There we go. We all think we are doing the right thing, and we are doing 70% wrong, so how do you fix that? It's fair to say confusion was the winner on the day. Yeah, it's very confusing, absolutely, and that's because there are so many different types of labels and types of product on the market, and there's really no consistent way that they are labelled at the moment. Kim says we need a symbol that tells us not only what the product is made of, but what we should do with it too, something like this one that's just been introduced in Australia. But ultimately we just need to consume less. Really think about 'can I avoid using it in the first place? 'Can I avoid this packaging, this plastic?' And if we don't, this is what the future's going to look like. This is just one of the stockpiles of plastic waste that's building up around the country since China closed its doors to us. Every decision you make as a consumer, every purchasing decision has to be made with the future in mind, of going, 'What do I want this environment to look like?' Some of that rubbish looks familiar. Maybe it's some of mine. Mm. We should all feel a bit guilty, but not disillusioned. There's a lot we can do ` reusable coffee cups ` great idea. Reusable shopping bags are really good. Recycling is still OK, but, look, if everyone just reduces ` just use less. Consider yourself told from Auntie Pippa. That's the show, but we're always here to help. Our programme is all about you, so if you've got a wrong you want made right or feel like you're not getting a fair go, drop us a line. We're on Facebook, or you can email us... or write to us... Thanks for watching. Until next week. Po marie. Copyright Able 2018