Always generous with her time, Jill comes into her own when helping those in the midst of a crisis.
Jill keeps busy. When she's not helping people as a senior claims consultant at AMI, she's quilting, reading a book a week, or running the Greymouth Jockey Club as its first female president.
"I like dressing up and meeting people, the social side of racing," Jill says.
As a member of a quilting group, the jockey club and several other community organisations, Jill is generous with her time - something that serves her well in her job.
"I actually quite like the thought that I'm helping people," she says. "That something bad has happened or something has gone wrong, and that I can help put it right for them."
Jill deals with all kinds of claims even small ones such as when someone has dropped their phone in a puddle but they need it replaced urgently to keep in touch with elderly relatives who are unwell.
"It’s quite satisfying that you can get something done for someone quickly so they can get on with their lives."
Jill also helps people with large losses.
"Let’s say, they had a metre of water come through their house," she says. "I'll help them work through the process of having their house repaired and their contents replaced."
Greymouth's high winds have provided a lot of work and a fair few stories for Jill. One of the best involved a couple who saw a trampoline appear in their backyard then disappear again during a particularly wild weather event.
"Half an hour after the first trampoline disappeared, they looked out and there was another, different trampoline in their backyard, which then blew away as well," explains Jill.
"The funny thing was none of the neighbours had trampolines."
Other events are much more serious, and it's when handling these that Jill comes into her own.
"I helped some people whose neighbour's roof came completely off and all the flying debris damaged their place," she says, explaining that, despite the extensive damage to their home, the couple didn't want to leave.
"She said her cat and her dog were elderly and if they weren't with them they'd pine and die. Her concern wasn't for herself or her husband, it was for her pets."
To solve the problem, Jill rang the power company to get the power reconnected, once she'd made sure it was safe, and arranged the repairs to work around the couple. As a result, they got to stay with their pets and their home was eventually repaired as good as new.
Jill adds that she always does what she can to help people.
"It’s just about helping people, making their lives a bit easier."
