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