Adjusting the Big Freeze, a commercial view of coverage issues and challenges

December 2022 saw the most severe weather related surge event since 2010 with the big freeze resulting in unprecedented claim volumes across much of Scotland and the UK, with Insurers predicting indemnity spend from this event to be 200% that of the 2018 “Beast from the East” storm event. These events bring significant challenges at an already challenging time for the insurance sector amidst the cost of living crisis and record inflation.

This session will explore the key challenges faced by the commercial insurance sector in managing such events, the differences in cover and common coverage issues that we come across, as well as the exclusions and extensions to look out for. The session will also provide an overview of real life claim scenarios focusing on best practice as well as current trends, issues that impact indemnity spend and can, on occasion, lead to adverse publicity.

Join us afterwards for sandwiches and some networking.

Learning objectives:

By the end of this session delegates will be able to:

• Gain an insight to the challenges of a commercial burst pipe surge event
• Understand the different types of cover and how they operate in burst pipe/escape of water scenarios.
• Identify the relevant policy conditions, extensions and exclusions and their impact on claims
• Through a claim scenario, understand the impact of a surge event, the effect of current market conditions and the cost of living crisis on indemnity spend/public relations
• Gain an understanding of best practice and strategy to manage these events