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 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

Car dealership up in flames

A major fire at a main car dealership in the East Midlands destroyed its workshop and repair centre and caused extensive smoke damage to the office areas, parts storage areas and new and used vehicle stock. A team from T&B was assigned to manage the claim.

Coordination
An initial meeting was organised with all the organisations affected by the fire including the policyholder, their landlord, their insurance broker, accountant and the insurer’s loss adjuster. The key objective of the meeting was to establish the circumstances of the incident, identify any immediate issues that needed to be resolved and to agree a plan of action.

Buildings
The policyholder did not own the premises but was responsible for insuring them. So, with the support and assistance of the landlord, we arranged for engineers and surveyors to attend the site and produce an initial strip out and decontamination schedule together with a further schedule for the reinstatement of the premises.

The main issue relating to the building was damage to the asbestos roof and we arranged for suitable contractors to be instructed to analyse the extent of the contamination and to report on the most effective ways to manage and remove the asbestos debris.

Machinery and plant
Our team prepared an itemised inventory of damaged and destroyed machinery, hand tools, diagnostic equipment and office contents. This was checked on site with the loss adjuster and a detailed and supported schedule of claim was submitted.

Stock and work in progress
Toxic smoke deposits and asbestos debris had contaminated stock so it was quickly agreed with the adjusters that none of the parts stock could be used on vehicles. A list was prepared and checked on site with the adjuster.

Vehicle stock
A large number of new and high value second hand vehicles were damaged by the fire and contaminated by asbestos. We arranged for these vehicles to be removed to offsite storage and negotiated the value of these with the insurer.

Business interruption
The extent of the fire damage was such that it was impossible for the business to continue trading from the site. The policyholder located temporary premises to enable them to continue to trade and we advised them as to how the business interruption section of their policy would support them with this aspect of their claim.

Summary
It was clear that the claim would continue beyond the end of the 12 month indemnity period and therefore a projected business interruption claim was produced and a negotiated settlement agreed on all aspects of the claim, including the building. This ensured that the policyholder received considerable sums in advance and had the flexibility to utilise these sums in the most advantageous way for their business.

What to do next?
If you think we can help you with a claim why not contact us today.

T&B appointed to multi-million pound fire

A printed circuit board manufacturer based in eastern England suffered a multi-million pound loss following a fire that destroyed its main production unit and caused extensive smoke and water damage to the remainder of the premises.

Major loss team
Thompson & Bryan’s major loss team were assigned to manage the claim and they spent several days on site with the policyholder and other interested parties in the immediate aftermath to discuss how business continuity might best be achieved and to also formulate a strategy for collating all the information required to support the insurance claim.

The company had suffered a major fire previously and encountered significant difficulties in resolving its claim and recovering the business so we were immediately under pressure to demonstrate our professionalism. We set about quantifying the claim.

Buildings
Working alongside a team of engineers and surveyors, we coordinated the demolition and clearance of the most damaged unit. We also coordinated the production of all the necessary specifications and other information to support the reinstatement works required to the remaining buildings on site.

Machinery and plant
Our main task was to produce an inventory of damaged and destroyed production machinery, computer equipment and general contents. We researched new for old replacement prices and produced a detailed and fully supported schedule of claim.

Stock and work in progress
Due to the extent and variety of stock, including raw materials and work in progress, in the premises at the time of the loss, we negotiated an agreement that the best way to quantify the loss was to carry out an accounting reconciliation based on the policyholder’s financial records.

The calculations were prepared in various ways to provide a ‘sense check’ on the values produced and this was then used as the basis for the stock claim submission.

Business interruption
Following our initial discussions with the policyholder regarding business continuity, it was agreed that subcontracting customer orders was the only viable means of maintaining short term order fulfilment. We maintained an electronic record of every customer order placed, its value, subcontract cost and BAU production cost to accurately calculate the value of claim that would be submitted under the ‘increased costs’ section of the policy.

We also analysed pre and post incident turnover to prepare calculations to support the loss of gross profit calculation using the policyholder’s financial information and in close liaison with their accountants. A detailed and comprehensive submission of data and analyses were submitted to insurers in support of all aspects of the business interruption loss including a projection of the anticipated impact for the full 12 month maximum indemnity period on the policy.

Outcome
We negotiated an early cash settlement, which provided the business owners with the flexibility to reinstate in a way that best suited them and in a time frame that best met their long term requirements.

Summary
The management of the company were extremely pleased with the way we applied our resources and expertise so that they didn’t have to be involved in the day-to-day direction and management of the claim. This enabled them to concentrate on their business and their clients.

What to do next?
If you think we can help you with a claim why not contact us today.

Leading hair loss clinic call on T&B

Water escaping overnight from property above a leading hair loss clinic in central London created havoc by rendering electrics and IT useless as well as causing extensive damage to the consultancy area’s flooring, walls and ceilings. Thompson and Bryan were on hand within hours to help the policyholder.

Mitigating loss
The first task was to organise emergency repairs so that the premises could re-open while a more extensive plan of action, for what was going to be an extensive refurbishment, could be organised.

Quantifying loss
Discussions were held with the company directors and their accountant to consider:

• The immediate effect on the business, including the associated financial losses that might be incurred for several days while emergency repairs were undertaken
• The ongoing effect on the business and expected financial losses of undertaking consultations in less than satisfactory conditions
• The practicalities and costs of undertaking the extensive refurbishment required outside of normal business hours so that there would be minimum disruption to ongoing client consultations

We also liaised closely with the policyholder’s preferred building surveyor and oversaw the production of a detailed refurbishment schedule that was issued to a selection of tendering contractors.

Upon receipt of the tenders, agreement was reached with both the clinic’s insurers and their landlord’s insurers on claim value and apportionment of the damage.

Outcome
Our in-depth financial analysis enabled us to negotiate a six figure settlement, based partially on forecast losses during the future refurbishment period that allowed the clinic to undertake the refurbishment at a convenient date in the future.

Summary
The directors of the clinic were very happy with the way that we focussed on the practical issues that needed to be addressed, such as immediate repairs to mitigate losses, as well as the more complex financial analysis. Our support meant that the clinic was able to concentrate on maintaining and growing its rapidly expanding business.

What to do next?
If you think we can help you with a claim why not contact us today.

Post Holiday Blues

Our client returned home from a trip overseas to be confronted by water pouring through her ceiling.

While she had been away the country had been gripped in a cold snap causing a water pipe to burst in her loft. Over several days a significant amount of water had escaped, soaking through the first floor bedrooms, ground floor living areas and kitchen. The water had also caused some of the areas of the ceiling to collapse.

Our task was to ensure that the policyholder’s property was returned to its pre-damage condition as quickly as possible.

Alternative accommodation
We quickly established that the extent of the damage had rendered the policyholder’s home uninhabitable and emergency hotel accommodation was quickly arranged. This was soon substituted for a more convenient long-term serviced flat rental. Costs for alternative accommodation were agreed with her insurers very quickly.

Asbestos issues
The two bedroom semi-detached property was built in the 1950s. Because of its age and the areas of ceiling that had been brought down by the water, T&B arranged for the appointment of asbestos contractors to undertake sample testing.

In addition, an experienced building surveyor was appointed using T&B’s network of trusted professionals to prepare a detailed Schedule of Works. The Schedule had two objectives, firstly as a document that could be agreed by all parties and to be used as the basis of a competitive tendering exercise with contractors.

Contents
We established that the water damage had disturbed Asbestos Containing Materials (ACMs) and after considerable discussion and negotiation we agreed with all parties that the most sensible course of action would be for the contents to be removed and safely disposed of. T&B undertook a detailed inventory of these items and researched replacement costs for them.

Outcome
We made sure that the policyholder’s property was allowed to fully dry out, ACMs removed and repair and reinstatement successfully undertaken. We also managed to argue for the use of a building contractor preferred by the policyholder. All damaged and contaminated contents were replaced on a ‘new for old’ basis and the policyholder returned to the property some six months later.

Summary
This case, as with many of this type, was more complicated than it initially seemed. The asbestos discovery added an extra dimension, but, by concentrating on the policyholder’s needs and by accurately quantifying the costs, the policyholder was able to return home quickly.

What to do next?
If you think we can help you with a claim why not contact us today.

T&B called up to help after ex Bomber Command hangar fire

When we got the call to help with a major fire claim at an aircraft hangar situated on an ex-RAF base in Lincolnshire that was once used by Bomber Command we scrambled into action.

The extent of the damage
The initial fire in the hangar, which had also been used previously as a filming location for a major Hollywood film, was fuelled by oil from an electrical transformer. The burning oil helped to accelerate the spread of the fire up into the timber roof lining of the hangar. The resulting damage from the fire destroyed two thirds of the asbestos clad roof, together with the electrical installation and a steam heating system used to keep aircraft at operating temperature during the Cold War. Manufacturing equipment used by the policyholder was also damaged together with finished stock and work in progress.

Quantify loss
Our initial objective, after we had organised and coordinated work to make the building safe (using a structural engineer), was to accurately quantify the full extent and cost of the damage. Because of worries about the roof a second, a more detailed engineering inspection was arranged to ascertain the extent of the damage and the engineer was instructed to produce calculations and drawings detailing the roof structure and the options for repairs or replacement if necessary.

We then organised for a surveyor to be appointed to prepare a schedule of repairs for the entire building, which also incorporated the engineer’s recommendations on the roof. This scope of works was agreed with the loss adjuster and a complete tender document issued to contractors for pricing.

At the same time, schedules of machinery and stock were prepared and checked on site with the adjuster. Our team then priced these lists to fully support the claims issued to the adjuster.

Outcome
An advance settlement was agreed for all aspects of the claim, which gave our client the flexibility to undertake the repairs to their specification and some months later the work to the hangar was completed.

Summary
Speed and quantification are critical aspects of any claim and as can been seen with this claim, detailed and accurate assessments by professionals in their respective fields lead to faster settlements.

What to do next?
If you think we can help you with a claim why not contact us today.