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!”