Clyde & Co | Property Damage: Recent Episodes
Clyde & Co
Our team explores topical issues insurers and policyholders are facing within the property damage claims space.
In this podcast, Emma Broadbridge, Senior Associate in the Property Damage team discusses the origin and capabilities of Pods as an alternative accommodation solution for insurers with Tim Goodman, Managing Director of Insurance Claims Accommodation Bureau.
Claims inflation in property damage claims is an issue which is already affecting the insurance industry and is likely to worsen in the coming years as the recession continues.
A combination of the fallout from Brexit, Covid-19, the cost-of-living crisis, energy crisis and the Ukraine war, are together already causing labour shortages, supply chain disruption, and rising costs of building materials and labour. This will start to see the costs involved in settling a claim rising, leading to a higher overall spend by insurers. The issue is exacerbated in today’s society by a greater focus on more sustainable/greener construction methods, further increasing repair and reinstatement costs.
In addition, globally, the world is facing more catastrophic events as a result of climate change, such as floods and wildfires. These events are increasing the number of insurance claims pursued, which will likely lead to higher premiums, excesses and deductibles faced by policyholders.
What is Build Back Better and when can this be used? What are the key challenges that this might pose for insurers and what are the positive outcomes of implementing Build Back Better?
In this episode we discuss:
• What Build Back Better is
• The types of claims to which Build Back Better can apply
• Challenges around putting Build Back Better into practice
• The positive impact of implementing Build Back Better
• Where Build Back Better sits within a wider framework of flood adaption and resilience.
In our final episode of the Modern Methods of Construction podcast series, Charlie Clements, Associate, Clyde & Co is joined by Richard Griffiths, Technical Claims Manager at Hiscox UK. They discuss modern materials used in the construction or retro-fitting of eco-properties and the risks associated with fire, including hempcrete, straw bales and heat pumps.
Driven by concerns surrounding the energy crisis and climate change, the developing area of eco-properties is still a rather new area for insurers. One difficulty the insurance industry has when assessing the risks and safety implications of these materials is very limited information and research on their reliability, particularly fire resistance. Take a listen to the podcast below for steps that insurers can consider taking to reduce their risks.
*This recording was made by BLM prior to its merger with Clyde & Co.
Welcome to our Property Damage podcast series on Modern Methods of Construction and the risk of fire. In this episode, Lori McConnachie and Matthew Lowry, solicitors at Clyde & Co are joined by Sam Morley, Senior Associate at Hawkins. They discuss the risks associated with modern facades in construction and in particular the issues around absent or poorly installed cavity barriers in order to consider the fire risks facing the insurance industry.
Due to the increasing creativity both in the design and materials used to construct buildings, there are an increasing number of new considerations for insurers when assessing their risk exposure in respect of fires.
Cavity barriers are essential for maximising fire performance and their suitability for the building needs to be considered at the design stage. However, the ever-increasing variety of materials used and the complex geometry associated with the use of some materials means that insurers are increasingly seeing issues with buildings which have poorly-installed or inappropriate cavity barriers and insufficient fire prevention or fire-stopping measures. Take a listen to the podcast below for steps that insurers can consider taking to reduce their risks.
*This recording was made by BLM prior to its merger with Clyde & Co.
Welcome to our Property Damage podcast series on Modern Methods of Construction and the risk of fire. In this episode, Matthew Lowry, Solicitor at Clyde & Co is joined by Ruth Beck, Head of Home Technical Claims at LV= to discuss Domestic Properties.
Unfortunately, it appears that fires involving properties developed using modern methods of construction have become more common and of increasing severity. In this episode, Matthew and Ruth consider:
•The main issues / emerging trends they are seeing with domestic fires.
•The steps insurers can take to mitigate these issues.
•Examples of lack of cavities and poor fire stopping in domestic properties built using modern methods.
•The effect of the Building Safety Bill on improving safety and lowering the risk of fires in domestic properties.
*This recording was made by BLM prior to its merger with Clyde & Co
In our latest podcast on Modern Methods of Construction and the risk of fire, Raphinder Jhinger, Solicitor, Clyde & Co is joined by Mike Beber, Major Loss Surveyor at QuestGates. Raphinder and Mike consider the main issues in relation to repairing modular buildings following a fire, including:
•The trapping of water and fire debris between modules.
•Repairing service runs and cabling through modules.
•The need to repair areas undamaged by the fire.
•Difficulty in finding replacement parts.
*This recording was made by BLM prior to its merger with Clyde & Co
Edwin Millburn, Partner, Clyde & Co and Ian Major, Regional Manager at Hawkins Forensic Investigators consider Timber Framed Buildings and Fire Protection Measures. They cover:
•The various types of fire protection.
•The regulatory requirements.
•Cavity barriers.
•Specific guidance for timber framed buildings.
•Problems they are seeing in relation to timber framed buildings and fires.
•Ideas on ways in which the industry could improve its response to these issues.
*This recording was made by BLM prior to its merger with Clyde & Co
In our final flood podcast, Elizabeth McCulloch, Associate, is joined by Jaymie Kavanagh, Solicitor, to discuss research they conducted with a leading brokerage firm on a brokers' perspective on flooding and PFR measures.
*This recording was made by BLM prior to its merger with Clyde & Co.
Elizabeth Harvey, Associate at Clyde & Co is joined by Sarah Brodie at the Association of British Insurers and Dermot Kehoe at Flood Re to discuss Flood Re, its origins, how the scheme functions, what Flood Re hopes to achieve by 2039 and some of the challenges it faces.
*This recording was made by BLM prior to its merger with Clyde & Co.
In the third podcast in our Property Damage Flood Podcast series, Rosemary Scott, Associate at Clyde & Co is joined by Graham Brogden MBE from GJB Consultancy to discuss whether the Code of Practice might be a starting place for market confidence in Property Flood Resilience (PFR).
*This recording was made by BLM prior to its merger with Clyde & Co.
The second podcast in our Property Damage Flood Podcast series focuses on Property Flood Resilience, known as PFR. We are joined by Richard Keightley from Hawkins, Forensic Investigators to discuss PFR effectiveness and how we can build industry confidence in PFR measures.
*This recording was made by BLM prior to its merger with Clyde & Co.
Laura Hughes, ABI, and Paul Redington, Zurich Insurance discuss in the first of our series of Flood Podcasts, the problems flooding currently poses to the UK, how much of a problem it will pose in the future and what solutions may be available to mitigate that flood risk. Take a listen here.
*This recording was made by BLM prior to its merger with Clyde & Co.