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Managing Extensive Water Damage in a Period Property

Morgan Clark was recommended to an elderly and vulnerable client in Wanstead, East London, after their period property suffered significant water damage due to a burst pipe over the Christmas period. The property, a four-bedroom detached house with original features like parquet flooring, was unoccupied at the time of the incident, leading to the water leaking for an extended period before discovery. The client, recovering from breast cancer and living with hearing loss, required a sensitive and comprehensive approach to their insurance claim, which covered £100,000 in contents and £200,000 in buildings damage.

The Claim

The burst pipe caused severe water damage throughout the property, impacting antique furniture and a valuable vintage Steinway piano. With separate insurance companies for buildings and contents, Morgan Clark took on the challenge of navigating the complexities of the claim. The team worked closely with the client to ensure all aspects of the damage were assessed, including facilitating renovations and upgrades such as replacing rotten windows.

Recognising the client’s vulnerable status, Morgan Clark negotiated a cash settlement in lieu of temporary accommodation, allowing the client to stay with family during the restoration process. The claim lasted 20 months, and the home was completely renovated and updated.

Results

Morgan Clark’s expertise and proactive approach led to a successful outcome, with the client’s home fully restored while also enabling improvements beyond the insurance coverage. Managing such a complex claim, particularly with separate insurance companies and a very significant contents claim, would have been overwhelming for the client without Morgan Clark’s support.

The client’s home is now back to its former glory, with additional upgrades ensuring long-term value and comfort. Morgan Clark’s commitment to guiding the client through each step of the process made all the difference during a particularly challenging time.

Fire damage in thatched cottage

Mr and Mrs Hampshire suffered a fire at their thatched cottage, which started in the middle of the night when the family were asleep. The accidental fire was caused by a lighter being ignited, which resulted in blankets and pillows catching fire and sadly further escalated.

The family attempted to extinguish the fire using a nearby fire extinguisher, however due to the level of smoke and heat, it was not possible to get into the room. Five fire engines attended the property. The fire brigade extinguished the fire within a short space of time and assessed the thatched roof to ensure there was no further damage. The fire officer did however recommend that a structural surveyor was instructed to ensure that the roof structure was fully intact.

The Claim

Mr and Mrs Hampshire appointed Morgan Clark to handle their insurance claim. Mrs Hampshire explained that “without Dan my insurers would have run rings round me at every corner. I have no experience of insurance claims and this was a complex claim. Dan battled hard and got us what I see as very fair compensation for the whole unfortunate saga.”

Due to several conditions and endorsements on the policy, there were initial concerns whether the policy would apply or not, however Morgan Clark managed to provide enough documentation for the claim to be accepted.

Mr & Mrs Hampshire felt they had great support throughout the claim, explaining “‘My team’ as I have grown to call them, have supported us through some challenging times, all with 100% professionalism, and with total support when I was finding all the external delays particularly tough. I know I would not have coped without them to guide us through.”

The Results

Along with a select team of surveyors, restoration contractors and builders, Morgan Clark restored the property back to better than pre-loss condition.

Morgan Clark managed to secure the family alternative accommodation for the duration of the works, as well as a large disturbance allowance payment for the Insurers’ delays whilst the clients remained at home.

Mr & Mrs Hampshire were unfortunately underinsured on their buildings insurance, however Morgan Clark managed to utilise every aspect of their insurance contract to secure enough funding to restore the property. This significantly reduced the rebuild costs the clients would have had to fund themselves. To achieve this, Morgan Clark negotiated cash settlements for certain elements of the claim, which the client could then use to contribute towards the reinstatements.

The settlement was agreed at circa £100,000.

Mr & Mrs Hampshire were pleased with the overall settlement. They stated “Dan has been wonderful and I feel has represented our interests 100% through some very tough going. He has always been kind, courteous and reassuring, particularly through some times I found quite difficult. He definitely worked his magic for me on multiple occasions, and I know the happy outcome we have is due to his hard work.”

Flooded bakery in Kendal: £100,000 insurance claim for machinery, stock and business interruption

Ginger Bakers is a very successful specialist cake producer based in Kendal, Cumbria, supplying commercial outlets across the country. When Storm Desmond wreaked havoc across the north of England in December 2015, the bakery’s leased premises were hit by floods both from a nearby beck and rising up through the floor. Eventually four feet of water came into the premises, destroying all the machines and stock and making it unfit for use.

Lisa Smith, who owns Ginger Bakers, realised she faced a very difficult time keeping the business going as well as making an insurance claim. So, based on personal recommendation, she asked Morgan Clark to handle the claim on her behalf.

The claim

The first action was to move the business into suitable temporary premises to enable production to re-start, which was particularly important because of Christmas commitments. With unprecedented demands for temporary accommodation, she was only able to find smaller premises and a separate garage for storage, which had an impact on the volume of business possible.

At the same time, Morgan Clark started to progress the insurance claim, which comprised £35,000 plant and machinery, £5,000 stock and £60,000 business interruption, including compensation for the smaller, more restrictive premises.

Discussing aspects of the claim with Morgan Clark gave Lisa an opportunity to step back and reflect on her business and led to her making a big decision: to move into far larger premises once the claim was settled. She therefore asked Morgan Clark to expedite the claim as quickly as possible so that she could start this new phase of her business – and this they achieved. “Morgan Clark helped me enormously in this. They talked through the new premises from an insurance perspective and without them I wouldn’t have had the courage to make the decision.”

The results

Lisa is now moving into new, larger premises and expanding her business. She realises however that without Morgan Clark the outcome wouldn’t have been the same: “Our house was flooded at the same time and we haven’t used a loss assessor to handle this claim – and it’s been awful. It really showed us the difference a loss assessor can make.

“I honestly think that if I’d been dealing with the bakery claim by myself I would have thrown in the towel. Morgan Clark made all the difference: they made it smoother and easier, and helped me realise things I was entitled to claim for which I would have ignored by myself. I’ve no doubt it’s because of Morgan Clark that we’re in the fantastic position we’re in today.”

Flooding at kitchen worktop manufacturer: £1.2 million claim

Stoneworld is a very successful manufacturer of quartz and granite kitchen worktops, importing expensive materials from across the world and using sophisticated precision cutting machinery. Based in Kendal, Cumbria, it distributes its high-end products through outlets across the country.

In December 2015, its two buildings were flooded with almost four feet of water, completely destroying the machinery and writing off most of its stock. According to Shama Collins from Stoneworld, “when it happened we were overwhelmed. December is a peak time as we have to meet Christmas orders, but we came to a complete standstill. We realised we faced an enormous insurance claim. But we don’t know how the insurance world works and it just would have been too much to do it ourselves on top of what we already had on our plate. So we turned to Morgan Clark.”

The claim

Morgan Clark recognised that the most important thing was to restart manufacturing as quickly as possible. However to do this the company needed to replace the expensive precision machinery which had been ruined by the flood. Cash flow was also critical. Even though there were elements of under-insurance, Morgan Clark immediately negotiated a substantial allowance for the damaged stock. The company could then pay for replacement machinery and stock, despite premium prices caused by the critical timescales, and manufacturing resumed.

The results

Stoneworld overcame the tremendous challenges it faced and started trading again very quickly. At the same time, Morgan Clark successfully negotiated a total insurance claim of £1.2 million, comprising £550,000 plant and machinery, £250,000 stock and £400,000 business interruption. The BI claim covered not only loss of gross profit but also increased cost of working which included the significant amounts of overtime staff had to work to fulfil the order book.

According to Shama, “Throughout this whole terrible episode, if there was one decision we got right it was using Morgan Clark. They understood from day one where we were coming from: they appreciated our commitments to clients and the losses we would incur if we didn’t move quickly. They realised the importance of getting back on our feet rapidly, otherwise not only would we lose customers but also it would cause huge damage to our company’s reputation.

“Morgan Clark saved our company. It would have taken us so much longer to get on our feet without them and we would never have achieved the same results. I would advise anyone facing an insurance claim to get a loss assessor because they really know what they are doing – and as far as insurance is concerned, we don’t.”

Using Morgan Clark a second time for flood insurance claim

When the river Eden flooded in Carlisle in 2005, water poured through David Allen’s substantial five-bedroomed semi-detached home. There was extensive damage throughout the downstairs which was likely to result in an insurance claim of around £100,000.

As a senior police officer, Mr Allen felt he would be able to handle the insurance claim himself and started the process for both buildings and contents. While both of these had been taken out with the same insurer, different loss adjusters were appointed for the two separate claims.

The contents claim progressed smoothly and it was obvious from the start that Mr Allen would receive his full entitlement. The same could not be said of the buildings claim.

Buildings claim issues

Mr Allen’s Victorian home had some rare and high-quality original features, including beautiful tiled fireplaces and hearths; he also had a very expensive fitted kitchen. All of this had been completely ruined by the flood and needed to be replaced. According to Mr Allen, “All we wanted was like-for-like replacements which we were entitled to under our policy, but the adjuster argued with us and wanted to put a lot of the original damaged material back.”

The adjuster then sent in a building contractor to start the reinstatement but, according to Mr Allen, “it was all so shoddy – I could see the fireplaces falling apart as soon as they were put back. And the electrical work they did looked dangerous. So I threw them out – and then nothing happened for two months.”

It was at this point that Mr Allen realised he needed professional help. So he turned to professional loss assessors Morgan Clark “and that changed everything and made all the difference. We were able to step back from an emotionally-charged relationship with the loss adjuster where we’d reached an impasse and couldn’t communicate. Morgan Clark had the technical knowledge and experience to make sure the right things were done.”

Once Morgan Clark took over the claim, the loss adjuster agreed that Mr Allen was entitled to like-for-like replacements throughout: “That’s all we wanted; we weren’t trying to rip anyone off. Morgan Clark put everything back on a professional footing and achieved what was needed to restore the house to how it was before.”

Second flood in 2015

So when the river flooded again in 2015, Mr Allen immediately contacted Morgan Clark: “As soon as it happened I was on the phone to them again. I had no idea if we would have the same bad experience but I couldn’t take the risk. Morgan Clark did such a fantastic job last time and it’s a godsend having them do it all for us again.

“And I’d say to anyone else who is in a similar position: don’t hesitate to use a loss assessor such as Morgan Clark. What you face is inordinately complicated but Morgan Clark does this for a living. It simplifies everything and in our case it ensured we received what we were entitled to.”

Flooding – £630,000 business interruption claim

In 2007, the town of Doncaster was hit by two floods in very quick succession. A large trading estate was very badly affected, including a successful steel processing and stockholding company. Three of its industrial units on the estate were contaminated by flood water and most of its stock damaged. This had a significant impact on its trading operations.

The claim

The company turned to Morgan Clark’s team of commercial loss assessors to manage its claim for business interruption. Morgan Clark’s business interruption specialists worked with them to ensure they received their full entitlement: in short, what was needed to re-start trading and to secure the future of the business.

In particular, Morgan Clark and the company’s management worked together to draw up imaginative plan which did not mirror operations prior to the disaster. This would not only enable a quicker resumption of trade but would also rationalise the company’s operations.

The results

With the help of Morgan Clark, the company successfully claimed £630,000 under the terms of its business interruption policy, covering:

The cost of rationalising its warehousing structure. Rather than re-instate and move back into the three existing warehouses, the company moved all its operations into one warehouse on another site.
Compensation for the theoretical period it would have taken to re-instate the existing warehouses and move back in.

A very favourable settlement for loss of turnover: despite an increase in turnover in the immediate aftermath of the incident, Morgan Clark successfully argued that this growth would have been even greater without the flood.

No matter what has caused the damage to your home, Morgan Clark will guide you through the insurance claim process and ensure you are back in your home as quickly as possible while ensuring you receive the full settlement you’re entitled to. Contact our Doncaster Loss Assessors today to find out more.