The Usefulness of an Incident Action Protocol in the event of a loss

Incident Action Protocol

A major loss event occurring in an industrial risk generates an emergency situation that requires emergency solutions.  With this type of company, the Consequential Losses arising out of the interruption of the business can be substantial and it is vital not to lose any time and be clear about what must be done after the incident has occurred.

That is the objective of implementing an Incident Action Protocol:

  1. Recover normal productivity within the shortest time possible.
  2. Adequately prepare and document the claim to be presented to Insurers.
  3. Recover as soon as possible the settlement for the loss and damage covered by the insurance policy.

The elaboration and design of an Incident Action Protocol requires the examination of the company’s risks along with their emergency and contingency plans.  Thought must be given in the same to:

  • Who is going to settle the losses: A list should be drawn up of three firms specialising in industrial risks operating locally that can assist the Insured to undertake measures in order to minimise the Consequential Losses.
  • Who is going to repair the damage: A series of firms specialising in the risk should be approved and establish with them what are their rates and work conditions.
  • Who is going to control the repairs and document the cost of the same along with the Consequential Losses brought about by the loss event: VANTEVO suggest that this should be done by the Insured’s Maintenance Department using their own management system.  That would allow a control to be kept of the quality of the repairs and, without any doubt, would expedite the same.
  • An account should be opened in which all the costs associated with the loss event are entered, with some accounting codes for a quick and easy identification and classification of the amounts.

Our experience is that, at the time of the loss event, which is the moment of truth as far as the insurance is concerned, there should be no room for any improvisations or any time wasted, but instead that agreed in the Incident Action Protocol drawn up earlier must be enacted.

We at VANTEVO CLAIMS ADVISORS would be delighted to assist the Policyholders and Brokers to implement an Incident Action Protocol to help them to resume normal productivity as soon as possible and receive from Insurers the settlement for all the losses to which they are entitled on the basis of the insurance Policy that they have contracted.

Why should Insureds contract a risk survey?

As the saying goes “better safe than sorry”, yet all too frequently we have encountered, on the occasion of visits motivated by claims, companies whose layouts and risk prevention and safety measures left much to be desired.

In a tough insurance market such as the current one, it is important to invest in prevention and safety so as to facilitate the acceptance of the risks by the Insurance Companies.  Many of the measures that can be undertaken, such as improving cleanliness, sealing of electric cable ducts, thermal imaging of the electric switchboards, charging forklift batteries in an adequate place (either open air or well ventilated) … are cheap to do and require little investment.

In addition, it has been proven that most of the loss events that occur in industrial risks are caused by human factors, i.e., due to the negligence of their own workers or workmen from external companies engaged in maintenance or repair work.  Therefore, it is vital to ensure that the operations and maintenance manuals are complied with and likewise the protocols for the “hot work permits”, and that both your own as well as the subcontractor staff know and follow the prevention and safety manuals established for each risk.

There is no point whatsoever in having excellent prevention and safety rules, if then their rigorous compliance is not enforced or controlled.  Being strict on this point would substantially reduce the claims record of companies, and is a matter in which their boards of directors and works committees ought to be seriously involved.

The fact that some experts inspect the risks and issue reports recommending improvements in prevention and safety issues and point out any deficiencies and gaps found, we believe would reduce the accident rate of companies and facilitate the cover of their risks by Insurers.

At VANTEVO CLAIMS ADVISORS, we have experts in risk surveys and are in a position to assist Policyholders and Brokers to reduce their claims record and lower the cost of their insurance policies.