A fire destroys a company’s offices

Background

The fire in the office space quickly spread to the company’s sales floor. The result was that overnight, the company found itself unable to receive its customers. In addition to the substantial material losses, the company also suffered considerable consequential losses, therefore requiring a swift response. 

It was against this backdrop of urgency that Stelliant deployed a team of specialist fire investigation and financial risk loss adjusters.  

How Stelliant proceeded

Upon arrival, the Stelliant loss adjusters immediately put the necessary provisional measures into place. This meant that the building could be made secure and decontaminated with the assistance of Stelliant After Loss Solutions. A temporary sales floor was also set up, so that the company could keep doing business. 

In parallel, INQUEST consultants, a Stelliant Group subsidiary specialising in post-fire investigations, was on the scene and working to find the source of the fire within 24 hours. In addition to its team of experts spanning all of mainland France, INQUEST can also draw on its cutting-edge laboratory with equipment that includes 3D scanners and digital simulators. And so the area in which the fire started was identified: a distribution panel board in the office space. 

The electrician who installed the panel board was immediately implicated, in an effort to arrange joint loss adjustment. As part of the joint loss adjustment process, the distribution panel board was promptly removed to undergo laboratory testing. This meant that the building could be signed off for rebuilding work to begin with no further delay.  

Upon investigation, the loss adjusters concluded that the office fire was caused by a loose electrical conductor. This defect was caused by localised overheating, which then worsened to cause a fire. This confirmed the electrician’s liability. 

In parallel, financial analysis was conducted in order to assess operating losses. The building and goods were valued, and the value agreed upon with the loss adjuster called in by the electrician’s insurer.  

Fortunately, the provisional measures (and the temporary sales floor, in particular), enabled the company to get back to work almost immediately. A swiftly issued advance payment to replenish stock also helped to limit operating losses. Lastly, a loss adjuster specialising in construction conducted technical analysis to rebuild the premises.  

Claims involving fires are particularly complex, requiring contributions from a wide range of specialists who must all be expertly coordinated by a “project manager” loss adjuster. To do so, Stelliant can draw on the plethora of skills found within the group’s different entities: post-fire investigations, operating losses, construction, goods, and more besides.