Dying woman’s bucket list trip cut short after dispute with insurer over caravan repairs

Tuesday, 7 July 2026

A woman given a terminal diagnosis sold everything she owned to take one last road trip around New Zealand with her husband, but their dream journey has been put on hold by an eight-month dispute with their insurer over caravan repairs.

Phillippa and her husband Craig Riddle sold their Auckland home and carpet business in 2022 after she underwent surgery for debilitating chronic pancreatitis.

Phillippa underwent a rare total pancreatectomy with auto islet transplant in Sydney after her condition became life-threatening.

The surgery — only the second of its kind performed on a New Zealand patient — was a last resort. Phillippa had been told she had weeks, possibly a month, to live without it.

The surgery extended Phillippa's life but left her with brittle diabetes and unable to properly absorb nutrition. Doctors have told the couple her organs are expected to fail within two to three years.

The couple decided to sell up their home and business and bought an $80,000 caravan to fulfil Phillippa’s wish to travel around New Zealand.

“We were quite positive. We were like, we're just gonna sell our house and going to make the most of this and we're going to make it an adventure,” she said.

The trip took them through the North Island and into the South Island, but came to an abrupt halt after Craig clipped a rock on the entry step while pulling into a campground near St Arnaud.

The insurer accepts the caravan was damaged but disputes the extent of the repairs required.

The impact buckled the step upward and cracked the door frame, and the Riddles contacted Star Insure the same day.

However, two repairers refused to take on the job, with one telling the couple it was because the caravan may have structural damage that was beyond their scope.

Craig said that while they were trying to find another repairer, they discovered water entering the caravan. An independent project manager later concluded the chassis was bent by 5mm and there was structural damage to the subfloor, roof and walls.

Star Insure disputed that assessment, saying the main chassis was undamaged and the caravan could be repaired. It also said the water ingress was pre-existing and likely caused by a loose solar panel, meaning it may require a separate claim.

Craig said he did not want a partial fix and had safety concerns about towing the caravan if the damage was more extensive than the insurer believed.

“If someone is coming the other way and I hit a bump and the frame separates and goes through their windscreen it could kill someone.”

Eight months on, the caravan sits at a repair shop in Ashburton, and the couple's insurance-funded accommodation allowance is nearly exhausted — leaving them with no home and no resolution in sight while the dispute continues.

Phillippa said while her health was deteriorating, she still had not seen a hoar frost, which was high up on her list.

The couple said they want the caravan independently assessed before agreeing to any repairs.

Star Insure’s head of claims, Areta Cameron, said the company sympathised with the stress the Riddles were experiencing.

“We understand that having a primary residence damaged is incredibly disruptive, which is why we have been supporting them with alternative accommodation provisions while this complex claim is assessed.”

Cameron said Star Insure had relied on assessments from multiple independent repairers and consultation with the caravan’s manufacturer.

“To help resolve this impasse, we are prepared to engage a further, suitably qualified independent expert to inspect the caravan and address the specific safety concerns the Riddles have raised.

“We remain fully committed to resolving this claim fairly and as quickly as possible.”