Reservation of Rights

In his continuing series of articles for Modern Claims Manager magazine, Thompson & Bryan Managing Director, Paul Lawrence picks up on the thorny subject of Reservation of Rights (RoR).

While acknowledging that insurers need to protect their position when considering liability he also feels that sometimes RoR is being abused.

It is an issue that the team at T&B encounter quite regularly and can lead to unnecessary delays and disillusioned policyholders.

You can read the article in full by following this link

Reputation, reputation, reputation

The Managing Director of Thompson & Bryan, Paul Lawrence, is often asked by the insurance press to make comment or give an opinion on claims related matters that arise from time to time.

Recently Modern Claims Manager magazine asked if he would expand on some of the more contentious issues that his team at Thompson & Bryan encounter.

The first article relates to the FCA’s announcement that it plans to investigate commercial claims handling. This caused quite a stir in the claims community but Paul is broadly in favour.

Reputations are at stake and as he points out, claims should be seen as an opportunity to create lifetime relationships with policyholders.

You can read the article in full by following this link

CILA invite T&B to present at Loss Adjusters seminars

Thompson and Bryan was pleased to be invited by the Chartered Institute of Loss Adjusters Property Special Interest Group, to present at seminars hosted by CILA in Leeds and Birmingham recently.

Team member Simon Jenkinson, a loss assessor with more than 20 years experience, represented us and his presentation on preparation of plant, machinery and contents claims was very well received.

The presentation focussed on all aspects of the claim preparation process, from recording evidence on site immediately following a fire or flood, through to working with other specialists such as decontamination companies and machinery manufacturers. He also covered the methodology we employ for presenting a fully quantified claim.

The event was viewed as a great success, with CILA commenting:

“We are pleased that Thompson & Bryan agreed to participate in this event. It was interesting to learn more about how professional loss assessors prepare claims. Our members have given very positive feedback about the presentation and its content.”

Thompson & Bryan Managing Director Paul Lawrence added:

“This was a great opportunity for us to share our knowledge and expertise and to demonstrate the diligence and attention to detail that we apply when dealing with claims on behalf of our clients. Many adjusters attending the event have worked with us in the past and therefore have experience of the quality of our claims presentations, but for those not familiar with our work it hopefully demonstrated the added value we bring.

"Our comprehensive and detailed claim presentations not only secure the best outcome for the policyholder but also make validation of the claim for the insurer more straightforward, thus expediting the whole process.”

More information

If you’d like further information about preparing and negotiating the optimum claim settlement, contact our office on 0208 446 6662.

Royal British Legion recruits T&B

The Royal British Legion has appointed Thompson & Bryan to manage the claim following a major fire on the 15th March at their premises in Hounslow.

T&B are no strangers to the Royal British Legion having represented them on numerous claims in the past, so we were pleased that the club committee officers decided to call us immediately.

The fire started in an adjacent property and spread rapidly, completely destroying large parts of the Legion Club. Due to the severity of the fire the local authority erected scaffolding and protective fencing around the building, which prevented anyone accessing the interior of the club for almost two weeks.

Our team are working closely with the club committee to prepare the schedules of claim and loss calculations, as well as exploring potential avenues for setting up temporary facilities for the club members.

The final cost to return permanent facilities to members is likely to run well into six figures and we will keep you informed as the claim progresses.

Client comment

“This is a very difficult time for all involved with Hounslow RBL. We are very pleased to have Thompson & Bryan acting for us to assist and support us through this complex process. As you might expect, none of us on the club committee have ever had to confront a major problem such as this before and we are already seeing the benefit of having experts on our side.”

DAS Loss Assist appoint T&B to Leeds laundry fire

DAS appointed T&B in February 2014 to deal with an extensive fire claim on behalf of the policyholder under their Loss Assist claims fees scheme.

Initial work

We attended site within 24 hours and began the process of detailing damage to equipment and customer property. We discussed with the insured the business interruption cover available under the policy and alternatives they might consider to help them retain their customer base, including sub-contracting work to other laundries.

Potential indemnity issues

Following a meeting with the insurer it became clear that there were issues within the Statement of Fact provided by the insured that they wanted to investigate further, which could result in policy liability being denied.

The additional investigations included appointing a forensic scientist to establish the cause of the fire. This work involved taking statements from employees and interrogating the alarm and CCTV footage from the night of the fire. As these investigations progressed it became clear that the cause of the fire could result in the insured being in breach of policy conditions.

Quick action

We were determined to make sure that the insurer took into account mitigating factors that were in danger of being ignored.

We advised the client to instruct their own firm of forensic scientists and through our extensive network were able to recommend a suitable firm. The scientist conducted his investigation into the fire, which included analysis of the conclusions produced by the insurer’s forensic team and a review of the statements and CCTV recording.

Our scientist’s report concluded that the cause of the fire could not be disputed. It also raised a number of issues that could affect the implication of the policy requirements and whether insurers could rely on these to deny policy liability.

Throughout this process we maintained a constant dialogue with the client’s insurance broker, keeping them up to date with all the developments. This enabled the broker to make separate representations directly to insurers in support of the policyholder.

The result

Following the submission of our findings to the loss adjuster and after further negotiations, the insurer agreed to accept liability and deal with the claim under the terms of the policy.

This enabled us to immediately negotiate a substantial interim payment for our client and agree the machinery replacement costs so that the orders for new equipment could be placed quickly.

Summary

Without professional help the client would have struggled to reach a settlement with insurers. The combined efforts of the forensic scientist, broker and T&B, working in a coordinated way culminated in a positive result being reached.

The client was very impressed that we had access to similar professions as those appointed by insurers, which is one of the reasons why special praise must go to the client for having the foresight to purchase a DAS claims fees insurance policy from their broker.

Client comment

 "From the first phone call and our initial first meeting I knew I had a formidable team representing me. The quality of the advice and manner in which it was given filled me with confidence. Not knowing if the insurance were going to accept liability was so frustrating, but John Leivers remained calm throughout, which really helped me to remain positive about the final outcome of my claim.

"He is a very shrewd negotiator and I am so pleased he was on my side. I cannot praise John Leivers and Thompson and Bryan enough.

"The £40 premium I paid for my claims fees policy is, without a doubt the best £40 I have ever spent!”

T&B Managing Director Paul Lawrence in the news

Paul Lawrence was asked to comment on the flooding debate recently following the announcement by the Prime Minister of a £10 million fund to help small businesses.

Thompson & Bryan is well placed to offer an opinion as, in addition to our other work, we provide the loss adjusting services for DAS Loss Assist policyholders.

Paul reflected on how the industry can help going forward and the first crucial steps that should be followed after a flood to prevent adversely affecting an insurance claim. You can read the full article by following this link

T&B support broker on multi-million pound warehouse fire

We were recently appointed by Robinson Buckley Insurance Brokers following a major fire to one of their client’s premises in Newport Pagnell.

The incident

On 15th January 2014 a major fire destroyed the distribution warehouse and offices of Coolectric Limited in Newport Pagnell. Coolectric are the sole UK importer and distributor of the prestige range of Liebherr refrigeration products.

The fire started around lunchtime and developed rapidly. The building and everything inside it was completely destroyed. Such was the intensity of the fire that the fire brigade was unable to do much more than contain the fire within the building. Thankfully, all personnel were evacuated safely and no injuries were reported.

Our support

The claim is still in its relatively early stages and our specialist technical team are heavily involved in preparing comprehensive details of claim. Site surveys have been undertaken and detailed evidence of the property damage has been recorded.

Our major loss team, along with Robinson Buckley’s claims representatives, were on site within 24 hours of the incident to provide immediate advice and support to the client. Following in-depth negotiations with the insurer and their loss adjusters, policy liability was secured in little over a week and a substantial interim payment secured shortly after. This enabled the company to implement loss mitigation and business continuity plans quickly and effectively.

This meant that in less than two weeks after the fire Coolectric was operating from a temporary warehouse facility and receiving and dispatching stock almost as normal. In further negotiations with Liebherr, Coolectric managed to source replacement stock to help mitigate the business interruption losses.

We will continue to provide valuable support to Robinson Buckley and their client until the final settlement is completed.

Can we help you?

For further information on how Thompson & Bryan can support insurance brokers and policyholders, especially in relation to commercial, domestic property damage and business interruption claims, contact the office on 0208 446 6662.

Free major loss support service

Major claims are stressful. Your job is to support your clients and how you manage the first 24 hours is critical. We have introduced a new support service that can help.

Free major loss support service 

We will provide on-site support to brokers and clients suffering major and complex losses during the first 24 hours post incident on a ‘no obligation basis’.

Our support will include:

• Site meeting with you, the client and loss adjuster
• Initial assessment of damage and provision of confidential advice regarding loss mitigation, business recovery and claim
• Review of insurance policy coverage and advice on cover option extensions and limitations
• Advice on policy liability issues, warranties, endorsements etc.

There is no obligation to appoint us for the remainder of the claim and there will be no charge for the work we undertake during the first 24 hours post incident.

Why are we doing this?

A range of critical issues need to be addressed in the first 24 hours of an incident and we want to demonstrate in a live environment how we can add value to the service you provide to your clients.
Obviously, we hope to create a good impression and lasting relationship with you so that you might consider us if you need support on future claims - but this initial service is absolutely free.

More information

If you’d like more information about this offer, or help on anything claims related, contact one of the team today. Click here for all the contact information.

Can you demonstrate your TCF credentials to the regulator?

The advice you give and the recommendations you make as a broker come into sharp focus when a claim is made and any deficiencies stick out like a sore thumb. We have developed a new service that can help you “stress test” your policy recommendations.

What is stress testing?

We review a random sample of policyholder insurance portfolios to examine how the cover would stand up in the event of a loss.

What’s included in each review? 

• Comprehensive review of existing policy contracts, schedules and other relevant documentation
• Consideration of extent and limitations of policy cover
• Identification of any potential deficiencies or limitations in cover
• Critical analysis and recommendation of any amendments that might benefit the broker client

The emphasis of our reviews is not to find fault with your recommendations but to offer you a view, or if you prefer audit, from a claims perspective.

Benefits

• You will be able to demonstrate to the regulator that you are serious about the quality of advice you offer to clients
• The reviews may highlight additional areas of coverage your clients may benefit from
• You may reduce the risk of claims disputes

We can offer this service as a one-off exercise or as part of a more systematic review.

More information

If you’d like more information about this offer or help on anything claims related contact one of the team today. Click here for all the contact information.

Hull flood victims benefit from claims fee scheme

A combination of high tides and strong winds caused severe flooding throughout Hull and the surrounding areas in early December.

Below are a few examples of the businesses we managed to help and support. In every case we were on-site within 24 hours of the flooding.

Humber Properties Ltd, Hull

Humber Properties are landlord to a variety of businesses and the floods affected many of their tenants occupying office space on the ground and first floors.

The ground floor, exterior yards and parking areas were flooded with up to 12 inches of water that left behind a residue of mud and silt.

Because of the extensive damage Humber Properties faced considerable loss of rental income from tenants who had been forced to evacuate and relocate.

Action Taken

We worked with Humber Properties to produce a plan of action that immediately mitigated further losses. Generators were hired to provide electricity for the first floor tenants, initial cleaning and stripping out was undertaken and dryers were installed.

Surveyors were appointed quickly and a schedule of repairs have been produced and sent out to tender.

M H Industrial Ltd, Hull

Water and mud residue caused considerable damage to the Company’s offices, warehouse and manufacturing areas as the floods receded.

Damage to machinery had an immediate and serious impact on the business and damage to their forklift truck fleet restricted their ability to rent them out to customers. Further extensive damage to the company’s ground floor hit their computer installations, including the main server, which was rendered inoperative.

Action Taken

Our first task was to quickly evaluate the losses by accurately detailing the extent of damage to machinery and equipment. To get the office back in action we quickly organised sub-contractors to install temporary computer systems. This element of the claim was agreed with insurers within 5 days.

Jenko Ltd, Hull

In this incident most of the damage from the water and mud residue was to the company’s offices, including computer networks, printing machines and paper and ink stocks, the latter being particularly susceptible to damp conditions.

Action Taken

To help our client deal with the immediate issues of replacing equipment we quickly reached an agreement on interim payments with the insurer’s adjusters. We were able to do this successfully by accurately assessing and agreeing the extent of the damage.
In parallel a specialist damage restoration company was instructed to carry out removal of the remaining water and install drying equipment. A surveyor was then appointed to identify the damage to the building and produce a schedule of repairs required.

Summary

The only thing our clients had in common was geography. Despite damage being caused by the same event these examples prove the frequently repeated phrase: ‘every claim is different.’

We really understand that and at Thompson & Bryan we get to work fast, prioritise quickly and concentrate on the things that are important to the client. Every claim may be different but our proactive approach never changes.

What to do next?

If you think we can help with a claim why not contact us today.

T&B negotiate big fire damage settlement for Kent firm

A major fire effectively destroyed a Kent company's finished goods storage warehouse and caused extensive collateral damage to a neighbouring processing unit on Monday, August 8, 2011.

The severe fire damage to buildings, stock and machinery had a major impact on the operation of PPR Wipag's automotive plastics recycling facility, causing a total loss in excess of £500,000.

Post Fire

Immediate Actions

Thompson & Bryan secured instructions and attended the site the same day to meet the insured, gain an initial appraisal of the nature of their business and the extent of damage caused by the fire.

Immediate discussions focussed on loss mitigation and the nature of their manufacturing processes to identify how the business could be maintained to service its customer base.

Our team of qualified and experienced staff worked continuously with the insured and their staff from day one to ensure the business continued as far as was practically and economically possible during the indemnity period through to agreement of the final claim circa 15 months later.

Settlement

The claim was ultimately settled on an overall negotiated basis to the benefit of the policy holder enabling them the flexibility and control to finalise the reinstatement of the affected property and their manufacturing processes.

Buildings - The insured was able to invest their insurance settlement in not only rebuilding but re-designing the layout of their manufacturing facility to improve efficiency for longer term benefit.

Plant and Machinery - The insured’s innovative bespoke process plant was reinstated to current specification and standards on a new for old basis as per the policy coverage. The insured was able to review and improve on their operational efficiencies as part of the reinstatement process for the longer term benefit and improved profitability.

Stock - Extensive analysis was required in order to ascertain the true cost value of the stock given that the manufacturing process entailed low cost raw material supply and extensive resource input in the manufacturing process.

The reinstated premises

Business Interruption - Critically, the loss mitigation measures employed enabled the majority of customer orders to be processed during the indemnity period, albeit at a substantial incremental cost.  Detailed calculations and analysis were undertaken to ensure the optimum recovery was achieved under the policy given the presence of both increased costs of working and additional costs of working cover.

Detailed analysis and calculations were performed in light of the apparent significant growth trend in the business.  A forecast of the sales was built up throughout the 12 month indemnity period to ensure the optimum recovery was achieved under the policy.

The Thompson & Bryan team involved in the PPR Wipag claim comprised:

• Simon Jenkinson, ACII Chartered Insurance Practitioner
• Frank Hughes, FCII Chartered Insurance Practitioner 
• Rajen Rajput, BA (Hons) Financial Analyst.

Client comment

"The best decision we have ever made (post fire) in our business, was to engage the services of Thompson & Bryan! We are certain, that without their expertise and in depth knowledge of the insurance industry, including the mine field of pitfalls and complications that come with any substantial claim, we would never have reached the level of recovery achieved by T&B!

"We were especially impressed by Simon Jenkinson, whose “attention to detail” in every aspect of the claim was nothing less than astounding! This, combined with his ability to very quickly, fully understand, the incredibly complicated way in which our recycling business functions, made Simon the perfect Practitioner for this claim."

Further Information 

www.pprwipag.com

Spalding fire leads to £2 million loss for orchid grower

On December 16, 2012 a major fire destroyed a large proportion of the V-Flora (UK) Ltd's commercial glasshouse and rendered the remaining areas unusable.

The glasshouse contained machinery and equipment, irrigation, heating and ventilation systems, together with over 900,000 orchid plants. The plants were in various stages of growth but none survived the fire. V-Flora also rented out part of the glasshouse to a supplier of plants to a major supermarket chain.

Action Taken

The client was unhappy with the performance of the assessor who was initially instructed to deal with the claim, and subsequently appointed Thompson & Bryan. We immediately began working with V-Flora's management team to advise on mitigation measures and to quantify the claim.

Using accounting and growing records, the value of the stock was calculated and agreed with the loss adjuster.

Engineers, surveyors and glasshouse experts were appointed to ascertain the damage and the costs associated with repairing and rebuilding the premises. Repairs were undertaken to the areas rented by the tenant in order that these could be re-occupied and rental income maintained.

A supply of plants from Taiwan was established that could be temporarily stored in glasshouses in Holland and sold on to customers. Repairs were also carried out to two of the areas least damaged, allowing V-Flora to take deliveries of plants and begin supplying customers again from the UK.

Outcome

Thompson & Bryan presented the loss adjuster with fully documented and supported Material Damage and Business Interruption claims. This allowed  us to negotiate a seven figure cash settlement that gave V-Flora the freedom to reinstate in a manner that would suit their future plans.

Client Comment

"I would like to express our complete satisfaction with the services you provided in negotiating a seven-figure settlement following a fire at our premises.

"Throughout the team displayed the highest levels of professionalism and in particular I would like to thank John Leivers and David Kelly. Their ability to view the claim from our perspective and hard work made sure we received a fair settlement as quickly as possible. 

"I wouldn’t hesitate to recommend Thompson & Bryan."

Jane Wang
V-Flora (UK) Ltd