Flood damage to a commercial warehouse open to the general public

Following a flash flood, the warehouse suffered from water damage as did the majority of stock. It took three days for the water level to subside in order to allow staff to survey the damage and try to salvage as much as they could.

The insurers appointed a firm of Loss Adjusters to handle the claim on their behalf.

The Managing Director had placed his confidence in the insurers and entered into negotiations with the Loss Adjusters who arranged for interim payments to be made on an ad-hoc basis and had arranged for a portacabin and storage container to be put on site which was not suitable.

The interim payments were inadequate to replace the stock or cover the shortfall in revenue. This in turn led to a decline in orders, loss of reputation, loss of customers and suppliers.

The business had reached a crisis point and the stress on the Directors and staff was telling.

Our Appointment

Three months after the flooding we were appointed to handle the claim.

Within forty eight hours we had carried out our review of the claim and constructed a comprehensive plan of action and arranged a meeting with the Loss Adjusters and contract the insurers via the broker.

By the end of the week we had an agreement in principal to our plan of action, which included:

• A request that contractors be appointed to deep clean the property the following week
• a tender document prepared and agreed for the reinstatement of the internal fixtures and fittings
• a meaningful interim payment of £75,000 paid directly to the insured
• agreement on the funding for a marketing campaign

In addition we worked with the insured in finding temporary premises suitable to move in. By using the funding for marketing we were able to re launch the business and within three weeks the business trading levels increased substantially.

We continued to work with the insured and the Loss Adjusters in order to reinstate the original premises and successfully relocated the business away from the temporary site to the original site.

In the meantime and as part of our expertise were able to prepare a full presentation to the Loss Adjusters for the Business Interruption claim with detailed spreadsheets and supporting evidence. The figures were agreed at a meeting with a recommendation that rather than allowing the claim to run, a full and final settlement was agreed.

This final cash settlement allowed the business to continue to rebuild its reputation and recover it market share far quicker than predicted.

Summary

Due to our specialist knowledge and expertise were able to take a problematical claim, turning a failing business, through no fault of its own, into a successful flourishing business by careful and constructive negotiations with the Loss Adjuster. Not only did the insured end up with a refurbished warehouse, but had a newly built website constructed courtesy of the insurers, which provided new opportunities and increased their market share.

But more importantly we were able to take the stress of the claim away from the Managing Director and provide him with the funding so that he could concentrate on his business whilst we concentrated on the claim.