''We're not talking about houses. We're talking about families.''
The words from Canterbury Communities' Earthquake Recovery Network spokeswoman Leanne Curtis are a salutary reminder of the meaning behind the impersonal, alienating and bureaucratic post-quake lexicon of the assessment and claims process.
Behind the long lists of numbers are people; people whose lives have been turned upside down, and who are still in limbo nearly four years on from the magnitude-6.3 February 22, 2011 Christchurch earthquake.
The comments come after reports that another 744 sets of Canterbury homeowners have been sent back to the beginning of the earthquake claims process.
The 744 sets of homeowners' claims were the latest to be deemed ''over cap'' (costing more than $100,000) by the Earthquake Commission (EQC), meaning they have to be dealt with by homeowners' private insurers. The claims were transferred in the final quarter of last year.
Those claims are part of the 43% of the 23,952 ''over cap'' homeowners still waiting to have their claims settled by private insurers.
For those long-suffering people from all walks of life it must feel like some sort of perverse real-life game of snakes and ladders or Monopoly, with the deck of chance dictating: ''Do not pass Go: Do not collect $200''.
Back to ''whoa'' and ''woe'', in fact.
Rubbing salt in the wound has to be the fact some homeowners have known the damage on their homes has been far greater than the sum quoted by EQC, and have spent huge amounts of time and money trying to prove it.
It was only when building work was finally about to be done that it was realised the initial assessments were unrealistic - in some cases grossly so.
The ''reward'' for those embattled homeowners now they have finally been believed? Back to square one.
Many must be wondering when they will get their ''Get out of jail free'' card.
For the 3300 homes still awaiting attention by EQC, the commission says that will be the end of April.
However, that date may only signal the start of a whole new round of negotiations with private insurers.
It could still be years until the final homes are rebuilt.
Of course, the sheer volume of people and buildings affected is unprecedented.
The February 2011 quake alone generated more than 180,000 claims, which break down into more than 250,000 individual building, land and contents claims.
Add to the mix the two other large quakes of September 2010 and June 2011, plus about 10 other sizeable shocks, and the claim numbers climb to more than 400,000 and 600,000 respectively.
EQC says 93% of Canterbury home repairs have been done and the number of ''over cap'' claims last year was only 1%.
A report released this week by private insurance company Vero has questioned the dual claims system, arguing private insurers should be the sole point of contact for claimants in a natural disaster because they are better equipped to deal with them.
It says the main aim should be to get the best outcome for claimants in a timely manner and there are lessons that can and need to be learned.
Of course, as EQC points out, private insurers have only dealt with 15% of the total number of claims.
It is impossible to know whether in reality they would have been able to cope with the full burden.
The claims conversation is one that must be had, for the good of the country, if (God forbid) such a natural disaster occurred again.
In the meantime, as the city hosts the Cricket World Cup - an undeniable step on the road to recovery - it is important not to lose sight of those having to steel themselves for what could be yet another long innings just to get a roof over their heads.
