Incidents that are likely to give rise to a claim should be reported to Fehnert plc claims department without delay. The prompt notification of claims is necessary to comply with policy terms and conditions. If claims are not reported as required by your policy, insurers can repudiate liability due to late notification or non-disclosure.

When an incident arises that may lead to a claim either under your own policy or against you from a third party, action has to be taken and the following is a list of general procedures, for your guidance:

NOTIFY FEHNERT PLC

Please notify Fehnert plc immediately of any incident likely to give rise to a claim, in order that we may act accordingly and set up a claim on our system. Late notification can create problems so the sooner you let us know the better. Many Insurers now offer direct claims notification lines or claims help lines to prevent completing claim forms and longwinded paperwork. If these are available, we will recommend that you use the facility to avoid any delays in processing the claim. If the claim is reported direct to your Insurers they will forward a copy of the claim details to us for our records. Your insurers will arrange where necessary, recovery of vehicles and inspections by engineers and loss adjusters. Sometimes insurers will appoint suppliers and tradesmen to replace or repair damaged items for you. In the case of motor vehicles they will usually instruct approved garages to carry out repairs and sometimes a class A courtesy vehicle (small car) will be made available to you for the duration of the repair.

NOTIFY THE POLICE

Please notify the Police of any theft related claim or accidental loss and retain the crime reference number for insurance purposes. Your Insurers may apply for a copy of the Police report and will require the crime reference number in order to obtain this.

Please notify the Police of any motor accident that involves any injury or where any party has been unable to provide evidence of Insurance at the scene of an accident.

DO NOT ADMIT LIABILITY!

Please do not prejudice the insurers position by discussing liability with any third party, as the insurers will enter in to liability negotiations on your behalf. This applies to both third party injury and property damage.

THIRD PARTY CORRESPONDENCE

All third party correspondence received from Solicitors, uninsured loss agents or third party Insurers should be forwarded to Fehnert plc immediately and unanswered. Failure to forward third party correspondence may result in further costs being incurred if the other party issues county court proceedings against you.

COUNTY COURT SUMMONS

Please ensure that If you receive a county court summons, it is forwarded to Fehnert plc immediately in order that copies can be faxed over to Insurers. Insurers only have a limited time to respond to the issuing of proceedings and so it is in your best interests to forward these as soon as possible. In the event that Insurers are unable to respond within 14 days, the third party representatives will apply for judgement, which will be against you personally or against the company for a commercial policy. A judgement will obviously affect your credit rating and company status.

GOODS IN TRANSIT or MARINE CLAIMS

Carriers usually offer compensation based on a set amount per tonne of the consignment (as detailed in the carrier's conditions of carriage on the reverse of their invoice). If a carrier is transporting your property and loss or damage occurs whilst in their care, custody and control, you MUST write to the carrier holding them responsible and provide full information of the loss/damage. This must be done within the time limit stipulated in the carrier's conditions of carriage, which is often 14 days. Failure to exercise your right to claim compensation within this time period may result in Insurers deducting the amount that they would have been able to recover from the carrier for your claim.

MITIGATE YOUR LOSSES/EMERGENCY REPAIRS

Under the terms of an insurance policy you are required to mitigate your losses and it is perfectly in order to take reasonable action to avoid any further loss. For example if the security of your premises has been compromised and your property is insecure or unsafe, then you should make the property secure in order to prevent further exposure to theft/loss or damage. The invoices for such necessary emergency works can be submitted as pat of your claim. If you have any queries regarding any of the above, then you should contact Fehnert plc Claims Department.

RETAIN DAMAGED ITEMS

You must allow the Insurers reasonable access to inspect damaged property. If it is not immediately necessary, then you should not dispose of it or repair it until the Insurers have confirmed that it is in order to do so. If the Insurers pay the full value of the property, then the salvage becomes their property and should continue to be protected until removed from your premises.

WOOLF REPORT LEGAL REFORMS

(Personal Injury Claims)

In 1966 the Government commissioned Lord Woolf to reform the handling of personal injury claims because procedures at the time were too slow and costly. He suggested changes to enable better co-operation between all parties involved and quicker settlements.

On 26 April 1999 the Government introduced radical changes to the law that affect the handling of personal injury claims.

The legal rules affect you if:-

• You are an employer

• You are a product or service supplier

• You use motor vehicles in your business

• You are a property owner or occupier
  

How the legal rules affect you... if a personal injury claim is made against you?

The reforms introduce two major areas of change for claims up to £15,000:

1. Rules and guidelines for handling the claim

Referred to by the reform as the Pre-action protocol this introduces a strict timetable for handling the claim giving 21 days to acknowledge it and only 3 months to investigate liability.

2. Rules for processing the claim through the courts

The reforms introduce a new framework for processing the claim through the courts. It is structured by the size of the claim:-

Up to £5,000 (although personal injury remains at £1,000)

Known as Arbitration, these claims will be dealt with quickly at an informal court hearing

£5,000-£15,000

Known as Fast Track, these claims are dealt with by solicitors within strict deadlines. Both the claimant and the defendant have to set out details of their claim in full.

The courts reduce the number of lay and expert witnesses, e.g. doctors, allowed to give evidence. Trials take place within 30 weeks of the start of litigation and last no more than one day. Judges have wide powers of intervention to speed up the process.

£15,000 plus

Known as Multi Track, the court will assess these individually and decide the timescale to proceed through the court.

The courts determine which category a claim falls within and most will be Arbitration or Fast Track

What you need to do:-

• You must ensure your business is geared up to respond quickly to an injury claim.

• If you receive a letter from a claimant notifying you of an injury claim, you must make sure you pass it on to your insurers, or us immediately/ The rules give the insurer only 21 days to acknowledge the letter, and 3 months to investigate from the date of acknowledgement.

If you miss these deadlines, the courts can impose financial penalties that will increase the claims costs.

Why is this so important?

It is essential that you work together with your insurers to make sure that you comply with the legislation. If you don't act within the timescales the claimant may be entitled to greater damages and their advisors' increased costs. Ultimately, this may have an affect on the premium that you pay.

What you need to do if a claim is made against you:-