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.”