When the global pandemic hit, this theatre school were left with no option but to close.  They received an email directly from the Government instructing them to do so. There really was no other option!

Along with many other businesses they were faced with the huge concern of losing their income overnight and with no idea of when they would be able to open again.  They turned to us to check out where they stood with their insurance policy.

The policy we had advised them to get included wording covering circumstances that in the case of an emergency that could endanger life, where closure of the premises was required, they would receive compensation from their insurer.

It was touch and go, in the process of the claim the FCA took insurance companies to court in a well publicised test case and the conclusion took some time to iron out.  Added to that the Loss Adjuster in this case didn’t want to play ball and did not agree that compensation should be awarded. However, in the test case the FCA agreed that the wording in this policy would be a trigger for the policy to come into force.

Enter stage left our Lisa who played a starring role in staying with this case monitoring and nursing it through every stage gathering all the necessary documentation until it’s successful conclusion.  We don’t know why the Loss Adjuster went behind our backs and contacted our client direct.  Perhaps because they wanted to use the FCA court case as an excuse not to pay up?  The court case confirmed what we already knew but it took up time when the Loss Adjuster used these tactics.

There was no guarantee that our client would get the full payment, but Lisa made sure that they did and played a pivotal role in communicating between the Loss Adjuster and the Insurer when their communication got tangled.  With Lisa’s expert knowledge the theatre were delighted when this claim was resolved.  If the court case hadn’t taken 10 months, we would have had a resolution in less than 2 months!

Throughout it all Lisa kept in constant contact with all parties.  With more calls than Lisa could count to the insurer to keep things moving along and unblocking any obstacles, plus in excess of 60 emails. All this enabled Lisa to keep our customer informed and took (some) stress away from their inbox.

Contrast this to the totally closed deal that Hiscox offered their policyholders, who are required to sign an NDA to receive their settlement! Whilst we understand why this happens, this doesn’t bode well for the future.  We have discussed tactics that reduce claim settlements previously, check out this blog.

The curtain closed for our client with their claim paid in full,  they were more than delighted.  Here’s what they wrote:

“I do want to thank Lisa at Cobine Carmelson for really supporting us with our claim.  Always in touch, always friendly and supportive, and absolutely dogged in her pursuance of a resolution in our favour over the course of nearly a year!”

We’re proud of our team and the results Lisa gets speak for themselves. Get in touch if you have a concern that your insurance will not do what you want it to.