Location: Australia

Cyclone Debbie strikes Queensland

As expected, here at Cunningham Lindsey we have been transfixed by Tropical Cyclone Debbie as it has edged its way towards the Queensland coast, expected to arrive at 2pm today hopefully remaining no more than a Category 4 storm. A few high-level details based on what we now know:

  • The very destructive core crossed Hamilton Island with wind gusts up to 263km/h. Boats in the harbour have already been torn from their moorings
  • The eye is larger and progressing slower than recent Yasi (2011) & Larry (2006) so potential for damage could indeed be immense
  • The cyclone will arrive near Bowen just after the second highest tide of the year, so the anticipated four metre storm surge may not cause as much damage as initially feared
  • Significant damage is expected to be experienced as far north as Ayr, as far south as Sarina, and as far west as Collinsville
  • The cyclone will later today become a Low, and slowly work its way through central QLD dumping extraordinary levels of rain which could cause flooding issues inland later in the week.

In short, this is the largest potential natural Catastrophe event in Australia for almost 6 years.

Planning for this event has been underway since last week, with CAT offices planned for Townsville & Mackay where our response will be led by Jason Wyer & Phil Marshall. We have 29 staff throughout Central & Northern Queensland, and we are pleased to report that all of our staff are safe. Our Mackay office remains closed until further notice, and we expect local staff will be on deck later today once they have looked after their families first.

As in previous large events the primary need of our Clients and your Customers is immediate contact, prioritisation of claim severity, make safes and site visits of urgent claims. Our initial triage will be managed from our Customer Service Centre whilst we await access to be available to our CAT offices, and we will stay in close contact with our Clients and Brokers.

An initial support team of an additional 15 Adjusters plus CAT Management team are awaiting notice to travel as soon as airports open, to support our local teams, whilst all other Adjusters and a selected number of support staff have been put on standby. The slow moving nature of this cyclone is impacting our certainty over the arrival of our teams, and this is being closely monitored.

Our drones are already in place in Mackay, and dependent upon authority we intend to conduct a general assessment of the damage zones tomorrow. Should you be interested in any specific footage, please contact your Account Manager to discuss further.

We’ll update you again as we learn more from the field following the passing of the cyclone. If you or any of your customers need support with the Cyclone Debbie claims, please call:

24/7 Customer Service Centre
1800 811 285
[email protected]

Major & Complex Loss (MCL) Team – Our specialist team of experts deliver the technical skills, industry specific knowledge and best practices to respond to losses of significant size and complexity. We have MCL Adjusters travelling in the first wave, and have all of our property, construction, engineering and marine specialists on standby.

FAS Global – Our qualified team of independent forensic accountants specialise in business interruption and financial losses with extensive experience in catastrophe and major loss quantification. They will have Accountants on the ground supporting our commercial Adjusters, as well as a dedicated team to manage business interruption only claims resulting from prevention of access due to forced evacuation, or loss of power.

Sergon Building Consultants – Sergon has a thorough understanding of the issues and Code requirements, and cost escalation elements that may affect your claims. Sergon will be meeting with the affected local councils to understand their specific plans, and our Quantity Surveyors & Project Managers will available to consult to assist with major property claims.

Oriel Property Services – Oriel are available for urgent mitigation and general restoration services. A Project Manager for major restoration projects will be available in the first wave of staff on the ground.

Cunningham Lindsey announces Diego Ascani as Head of inTrust in Australia

Diego Ascani, has joined Cunningham Lindsey Australia as Chief Operating Officer and Head of InTrust Australia.

Diego brings to Cunningham Lindsey a wealth of knowledge principally in the General Insurance claims sector and more specifically Workers Comp.  He has previously served in several prominent senior leadership positions with his most recent role as CEO – Insurance Services at Xchanging. Diego also has extensive experience in the auditing and change management of claims practices for both government and general insurers from his prior roles including being seconded to the HIH Royal Commission as well as at GAB Robins (SA), Gallagher Bassett, Deloittes and PWC.

Diego is a qualified Solicitor who holds a Bachelor of Commerce, Bachelor of Law and a MBA. He is also an Associate of the Insurance Institute of South Africa and a Graduate of the Australian Institute of Company Directors.

Together with the Asia Pacific inTrust leadership of Johanna Agar in Sydney and Nicki Dunn in Singapore, Diego will be continuing to expand our Third Party Administration services across the region.

Cunningham Lindsey responds to powerful earthquake off Solomon Islands

This morning a 7.8 magnitude earthquake struck off the Solomon Islands triggering a tsunami warning. Local villagers were advised by the Pacific Tsunami Warning Centres to find higher ground with ‘widespread, hazardous’ tsunami waves. After a few hours the tsunami warning was downgraded with no reports of serious damage.

The earthquake was reported at 6:38am AEST on December 9 (17:38 UTC on December 8 (US Geological Survey – http://earthquake.usgs.gov/earthquakes/eventpage/us20007z80#executive) with the epicentre of the quake located 69km west of Kirakira, a provincial capital in the Solomon Islands. Electricity supplies have been cut off in some areas, with a powerful tremor causing blackouts and disruptions of the phone system on the Islands including the tsunami warning system in the capital, Honiara. Two provinces southwest of Makira and Temotu were also issued tsunami alerts. The Pacific Tsunami Warning Centre (PTWC) has since indicated that the threat of a tsunami had passed.

Cunningham Lindsey Response
We have the largest team of experts of any adjusting company in the world, dealing with major losses. Our Major & Complex Loss (MCL) Adjusters are supported by FAS Global, our team of forensic accountants who specialise in the quantification of business interruption and financial losses.

Our team across Asia Pacific is ready to respond, and will be initially overseen from Sydney, Australia should we be required to have additional staff on the ground in the Solomon Islands.

Right people, right place, right time
MCL ensures that you get access to the very best of our technical skills, industry specific knowledge and best practices to respond to losses of significant size and complexity. We know that managing small, large or complex claims requires a combination of ‘on the ground’ knowledge, specific experience of the risk – however complex the industry or the circumstances – and a set of best practices that delivers a consistent and effective response.

You can be assured of the highest quality of service with MCL. We have developed a set of standards and selection criteria to achieve this, with every member of the team meeting a minimum set of qualifying criteria. With MCL you can have total confidence that your large and complex losses will receive the utmost attention and technical expertise from the right people – no matter where the loss occurs around the world.

Should you require assistance please contact Mark Thompson.

Cunningham Lindsey responds to weekend storms across Australia

14 November 2016

The unseasonal conditions continued on Friday night as a series of storm fronts moved through South Australia and into the other states, whilst on Sunday night more activity was felt in Queensland. Provided below is a short summary of the storm activity experienced across Australia:

South Australia

At 4:30pm on Friday afternoon, a storm front struck Adelaide. Damage has been reported as quite widespread across the city with hail damage to skylights, pergola roofs and blocked gutters from hail build-up. The winds gusted across the weekend up to 90 km/h causing ongoing difficulties in undertaking emergency repairs and producing further damage in some areas.

The storm moved up to the Riverland region famous as a key food bowl. The hail has torn through this region resulting to substantial crop damage.

At the moment our team in Adelaide will manage any new losses and support our rural teams in the border regions.

Victoria

The town of Mildura and nearby Red Cliffs was later hit by the same front on Friday night which included a mini-tornado first in the township of Merbein. Lightning lasted for 90 minutes with hail ranging in size from small to the size of a golf ball. The damage in Merbein was quite severe including the destruction of roofs and outbuildings, whilst the remaining areas were impacted by flying debris which has mainly caused damage to fences, roofs and air conditioners. Again, damage to crops was severe and some remote areas remain without power.

Our Mildura office remains open and in full operation. As we anticipate an increase of claims in this area additional Adjusters are en route to assist.

New South Wales

The far west town of Broken Hill was also impacted by 99km/h winds and hail leading to similar damage as sustained further south. Serviced from our Mildura office two hours away, we will have additional Adjusters attending in the coming days to support this district.

Less powerful weather also struck across western areas including Dubbo and Tamworth regions. Our branches in Orange, Dubbo & Tamworth are currently managing the urgent matters and will be supported by our rural branch network as needed.

 Queensland

Late on Sunday afternoon a substantial weather system landed in South East QLD leaving a trail of damage with spectacular photos on social media exhibiting the power of the winds. In Brisbane, areas near the Port & Airport were hit by extreme wind gusts and hail.

Further north, a mini-tornado passed over the small Sunshine Coast hamlet of Dicky Beach. This older suburb of Caloundra has extensive use of asbestos sheeting classic for their construction era, and we are currently assessing the extent of damage and potential risks in affected streets.

Hail also visited Maryborough and the small village of Bauple had gusts that removed roofs. Our Brisbane, Sunshine Coast & Bundaberg offices are on the ground already assisting those who have lodged claims.

Cunningham Lindsey has Australia’s most extensive coverage of Loss Adjusters with 47 branches supported by our forensic accountants, building consultants and restoration project managers. Should you have any questions please call your local branch or Account Manager.

Brad Mountford
Head of Business Development
M +61 411 047 926
E [email protected]

Anita Wilson
Head of Loss Adjusting
M +61 408 617 990
E [email protected]

 

 

inTrust expands across Asia Pacific

In our continued commitment to providing claims management services globally, Cunningham Lindsey’s TPA arm, inTrust, is pleased to announce the appointments of:

  • Nicki Dunn – Head of inTrust, Asia
  • Johanna Agar – National Operations Manager, inTrust Australia.

Nicki Dunn (Head of inTrust – Asia) joins inTrust with extensive experience in Accident & Health as well as audit and quality assurance across a broad range of insurance classes. Nicki is based in our Singapore office to develop our TPA services across Asia.

Johanna Agar (National Operations Manager – inTrust Australia) is a proven leader with expertise in outsourced claims management. Based in the Parramatta office, Johanna is supported by the existing Team Leaders:

  • Robyn Hassell – Accident & Health
  • Denise Dickerson – Sports Injury
  • Anne Simmons – Liability & Casualty.

Over the coming weeks we expect to announce the appointment a new Motor & Property Team Leader.

Daniel Lukich has recently transitioned into a Business Development and Account Management role allowing him to continue to service inTrust clients. Daniel’s transition to the Business Development Team is seen to be a crucial role in ensuring our service offering is aligned in partnership with our client’s requirements.

We are pleased to share the news of our growing capability for TPA service across the Asia Pacific region. Please feel free to contact Brad Mountford should you require any additional information.

Brad Mountford
Head of Business Development
M: +61 411 047 926
E: [email protected]

 

 

South Australia’s worst storm in 50 years moves East

30 September 2016
On Wednesday September 28, South Australia experienced one the biggest storms to hit the state in 50 years. The severe weather caused a state-wide blackout leaving households without power and public transport systems at a halt for a number of hours. Power was restored to Adelaide Metro Wednesday evening and in the early hours of yesterday morning.

The damage of the severe weather extends to small populated towns within 2-5 hours drive to the north of Adelaide. Blyth is one of the worst affected locations with a population of approximately 400 people.

It was reported the low pressure system was expected to move across to New South Wales and Victoria. Provide below is an update per region:

South Australia

At present claim numbers recorded from the event that occurred on Wednesday are minor beyond some severely damaged homes to the north of Adelaide in the small towns previously mentioned. With respect to potential business interruption claims following the loss of power, we suspect that the standard 48 hour deductible will not be exceeded. Our FAS Global Small Claims Team are available to review any potential claims should they arise.

Overnight, the second front anticipated more risk and damage than the Wednesday event, however at this stage the reports are that SA has escaped relatively unscathed. We expect to see a slight uptake in claims over the next week.
A storm surge was experienced in the coastal areas in the Spencer Gulf and Gulf of St Vincent, and some lower lying holiday locations do appear to have been impacted. It is possible that these locations have suffered damage though with the long weekend ahead we anticipate reports may not be reported until next week.

New South Wales

As you would have seen in the media floodwaters have peaked in the central west town of Forbes. At this stage we have received a small portfolio of claims. As water levels slowly retreat we are keeping a close watch on further developments on weather activity.

Victoria

As reported the severe weather warning was cancelled but Great Ocean Road remains on alert for potential landslides. There are no reports received of rising waters in the region and such does not pose high risk at this point in time.

How we can assist 

Our Cunningham Lindsey 24/7 Call Centre and local offices are all operational and ready to assist over the long weekend in NSW, SA & QLD should the volatile weather continue. Once the AFL Finals are over, our Victorian teams will be back on deck too as of Monday.

Major & Complex Loss (MCL) Team – Our MCL teams have been put on standby should they be required. Our specialist team of experts deliver the technical skills, industry specific knowledge and best practices to respond to losses of significant size and complexity.

FAS Global – Our qualified team of independent forensic accountants specialise in business interruption and financial losses with extensive experience in catastrophe and major loss quantification.

Sergon Building Consultants – Sergon has a thorough understanding of the issues and cost escalation elements that may affect your claims. Sergon are available to prepare Causation Reports, Scopes of Works or Quantity Surveying Valuations to assist with major property claims.

Oriel Property Services – can provide fixed rate room restoration, flood mitigation and general restoration services. A project manager can be on site should you require restoration project management or mitigation works to be undertaken.

For immediate assistance or further information contact:
If you have any questions regarding our response please do not hesitate to contact your Account Manager or our SA Management team.

Bradley Johnson

Regional Leader – SA, NT, WA

T: +61 8 7420 1501

M + 61 411 025 288

E: [email protected]

24/7 Customer Service Centre

T: 1800 811 285

E: [email protected]

Cunningham Lindsey builds global offering for forensic advisory

In a move that reflects the growth in demand for global, forensic analysis, Cunningham Lindsey has launched FAS Global – offering a worldwide, seamless service that delivers better outcomes for insurers and policyholders.

Mark Thompson, head of FAS Global said:
“Business today is more inter-connected and global than ever before. The result is increasingly complex loss scenarios that may not have been envisaged when policy wordings were written or placed – often in parts of the world and circumstances that are very challenging. To unravel the story and to get under the skin of the financial aspects of a complex loss requires global reach, specialised forensic accounting skills and expertise in economic loss analysis and quantification.

“FAS Global is able to do just that, with a global footprint and offices in the United States, Canada, Brazil, United Kingdom, Middle East, Singapore, Australia and New Zealand. The combination of Cunningham Lindsey’s Major and Complex Loss business and FAS Global creates the best of both worlds, so that our clients know they will be able to access the right expertise, in the right place, at the right time.”

FAS Global’s clients include: insurers; lawyers; and public entities; and the range of services offered includes: analysis of financial aspects of insurance claims (business interruption and stock losses), expert witness work; business valuations; dispute resolution and fraud investigation.

East Coast low floods update – Australia

Stormy weather moves on, whilst our CAT response rolls in

Now that the East Coast Low has well and truly passed, we’ been able to get a far greater picture of the damage across the eastern states. The main damage is centred around Sydney in NSW, and Launceston in TAS.

Whilst the media attention has kept focus on the Sydney beaches, we’ve found the damage has been quite widespread across the metropolitan basin. Floodwaters in northern Tasmania reached high levels in many rivers, but the Tamar Basin levies held. The intensity of the rainfall eased giving us the opportunity for our adjusters to start safely inspecting claims across the state.

Our Response Update
Our Parramatta office is now fully operationa,l being lead by Gary Pahl, with support for our large Sydney teams by an additional 21 interstate adjusters. The claims being managed range from extensive water inundation at Picton, building damage at Collaroy, to various storm claims across the city suburbs.

A Launceston CAT office has been established under the leadership of Ann Mackay,with an additional 7 interstate adjusters to support our 3 offices in Tasmania. We’ve already seen some substantial flood claims to homes and businesses, and anticipate that there will be more rainwater claims to follow.

We’ve also had an additional 3 adjusters assigned to boost our Wollongong branch to cover the south coast, and 15 international adjusters on standby pending claim volumes over the next couple of days.

Accountants from our FAS Global team have been calling those commercial clients impacted by potential business interruption to advise on immediate steps.

At this point in time we’re not seeing any major ongoing external factors that will impact interruption to businesses. We will continue to monitor this, particularly in Tasmania, as access opens to all areas.

Our teams remain very conscious of the need to address the liability issues as a key priority to help our clients make clear decisions on policy coverage, and are complying with any specific guidelines that may be in place.

As a reminder Major & Complex Loss (MCL) Team – our specialist team of experts deliver the technical skills, industry specific knowledge and best practices to respond to losses of significant size and complexity. This includes marine, construction and major property losses.

Oriel Property Services – can provide fixed rate room restoration, flood mitigation and general restoration services. A Project Manager can be on-site for any major restoration management.

Sergon Building Consultants – our building consultants have a thorough understanding of the issues and cost escalation elements that may affect claims from this event. Sergon are available to prepare Causation Reports, Scope of Works or Quantity Surveying Valuations to assist with major property claims.

Forensic Advisory Services – our qualified team of independent forensic accountants specialise in business interruption and financial losses, and they have extensive experience in catastrophe and major loss quantification.

FOR IMMEDIATE ASSISTANCE OR FURTHER INFORMATION

In the first instance you should contact your Account Manager or local office. Our Catastrophe Office contact details are below:
Parramatta Office

Ph: 02 9633 3533

CAT Manager: Gary Pahl

Launceston CAT Office 

Ph: 03 6334 6938

CAT Manager: Ann Mackay

24/7 Call Centre

Ph: 1800 877 285

[email protected]

East Coast low hits Australia from Hervey Bay to Tasmania

Starting on Saturday 5th June, an East Coast Low landed in QLD before slowly making its way south dropping heavy rain and gusty winds along the way.

The storm itself continues to pound down the coast, with early reports suggesting that at least 4 people have lost their lives in rising floodwaters. In NSW, the SES had more than 9,000 calls for assistance mainly due to flash-flooding and impact by trees, with dramatic imagery emerging of properties in Sydney’s northern beaches being struck by raging waves. Parts of Tasmania are only now going underwater as 5 major river systems trying to deal with enormous quantities of rain with some rivers likely continue to rise into the early evening.

The event has been declared a catastrophe by the Insurance Council of Australia, with more than 11,000 claims having been lodged already.

Our Response
Given the majority of damage to date is centred in Sydney and south of Sydney, we’ve activated our CAT Plan and established our CAT office in Parramatta under the management of Gary Pahl. Dedicated staff have been assigned to this team with a focus on triage of those claims requiring urgent attention. We have already mobilised regional adjusters to support our Sydney based branches.

We are monitoring developments in Tasmania, and may yet also send additional staff should new claims continue to increase.

Major & Complex Loss (MCL) Team – our specialist team of experts deliver the technical skills, industry specific knowledge and best practices to respond to losses of significant size and complexity. This includes marine, construction and major property losses.

Oriel Property Services – can provide fixed rate room restoration, flood mitigation and general restoration services. A Project Manager can be onsite for any major restoration management.

Sergon Building Consultants – our building consultants have a thorough understanding of the issues and cost escalation elements that may affect claims from this event. Sergon are available to prepare Causation Reports, Scope of Works or Quantity Surveying Valuations to assist with major property claims.

Forensic Advisory Services – our qualified team of independent forensic accountants specialise in business interruption and financial losses, and they have extensive experience in catastrophe and major loss quantification.

For immediate assistance or further information:
In the first instance you should contact your Account Manager or local office. Our Catastrophe Office contact details are below:
Parramatta Office 24/7 Call Centre
Ph: 02 9633 3533 Ph: 1800 877 285 or
[email protected]

FAS appoints four new Senior Staff

Forensic Advisory Services Australia welcomes four senior forensic accounting specialists.

James Shady – joins us as a Partner in our Melbourne office. Prior to joining FAS, James held senior roles with the corporate advisory practices of several leading global and national firms (PwC, KPMG and the Ferrier Hodgson Group where he was a Partner).

His experience spans financial modelling, accounting reconstructions, loss analysis, fraud investigations, valuations, solvency reviews, litigation and asset recovery. James is also a Registered and Official Liquidator.
He has lead teams conducting commercial due diligence, in-formal and formal re-organisations, debt re-structuring, complex financial modelling, buy and sell side negotiations in a range of industries and variety of geographies.

Rodney Milford – Rodney joins as a Director and will be based in CL’s Newcastle office. Rodney joins us from Cerno where he enjoyed support from a wide range of lawyers and insurers. Of special note is his strong relationship with our strategic client, Suncorp and we look forward to the insights and learnings Rodney will bring from working extensively with Suncorp’s commercial team.

Sebastiaan Fick – Sebastiaan joins our Brisbane team as a Manager in our insurance team. Sebastiaan worked for PwC in South Africa and Australia prior to joining Crawford 6 years ago. At Crawford, Sebastiaan was part of the GTS group and worked on a variety of property and financial lines claims, including claims for AIG. Sebastiaan could not join at a better time given the volume of work in Queensland, particularly after the recent CATS.

Jillian Pancott – Jillian joins our Sydney team as a Manager in our insurance team. Jillian previously worked for MDD in Canada and more recently at MDD in Sydney. Jillian has worked extensively on claims arising from the Brisbane floods and Christchurch earthquakes. In addition, whilst at MDD she has been instrumental in developing and delivering client workshops and training.