Pro Experts

The Growing Value of Insurance Cover

There is nothing like a natural disaster such as Cyclone Gabrielle to once again have the spotlight shone firmly on ensuring your property is adequately insured in the event of loss and damage. The way Kiwi homes were insured largely changed following the devastation of the Canterbury earthquakes with a shift from guaranteed full replacement or undefined cover to a...

Initial responses and build back better

The impact of Cyclone Gabrielle has been felt, and will continue to be felt by many, and across many sectors. Suffice to say that many families and businesses have been massively affected. From a resource management perspective, new legislation has been introduced to assist initial recovery responses, and various planning processes are likely to follow around consenting and new policy...

Learning from Disaster: What we should take away from Cyclone Gabrielle

Over the course of the last several years, we have seen three major events that forced us to reassess our business continuity and disaster recovery planning. The Christchurch earthquake of 2011 initiated a shift towards cloud technology in preparation for office access becoming more unpredictable. 2020’s COVID-19 pandemic solidified remote working and online collaboration as an essential part of modern...

What did we learn from disaster

It’s been a tough couple of months for many with Cyclone Gabrielle having wreaked havoc across our beautiful region. Over 40,000 insurance claims have been lodged. The cost attached to these claims is around $890 million of which around $70m has been paid, according to The Insurance Council of New Zealand at 20th March. This only covers insurers who are...

Employee Benefits How do you measure the health & wellbeing of your team?

There has been a lot of talk lately around employee health and wellbeing, especially with the struggle for employers to attract and retain staff and recent initiatives such as Mental Health Awareness Week. We all know that a healthy workforce leads to a healthy business but what is the right approach for employers to health and wellbeing and, if the...

Plan to Make 2023 Your Safest Year Yet

2022 has seen two notable cybersecurity incidents: the significant data breach of the Pinnacle Midlands Health Network and the white-hat hacking of the Christchurch Hot Pools. While the Christchurch breach was downplayed as having been conducted by an “ethical hacker” intentionally identifying security vulnerabilities, the important takeaway in both cases is that a security hole in the systems was...

Looking ahead: The pandemic’s economic ripples

The pandemic and the recent relaxation of restrictions continue to reverberate through the global economy and cloud the outlook. For insight into what may lie ahead, Jarden investment strategist and economist John Carran shared his thoughts, at the time of writing on 18 November 2022. Through the haze, we see potential improvements in inflation but also see the global economy...

Riding the wave of uncertainty

The war in Ukraine, volatile European markets and currencies, and challenges across China’s political and economic landscape are just some of the issues impacting almost every country in every corner of the globe – including New Zealand. We are broadly an import economy – and this handful of issues playing out on the world stage is having a direct impact...

Valuing Hastings CBD – Revitalisation programme reaps rewards

Williams’ Harvey undertakes a retail shop occupancy survey of the Hastings City CBD twice a year in April and September. Undertaking the most recent survey it was apparent that much of what the Hastings District Council (HDC) set out to achieve under the ‘Hastings City Centre Vibrancy Plan’ is coming to fruition. The plan’s key target and outcomes were to...

Honey, I Shrunk the Equity!

Reflecting on the past year and considering what’s to come in 2023. How do we summarise the New Zealand property market in 2022? “Contrast” comes to mind. “Against the grain” might be another appropriate phrase. It was an exceptionally intriguing year for New Zealand’s property market. Professionals at all levels of the sale and purchase of property recognised a significant...