The client
A leading US law firm representing a global insurer on a complex and contentious business interruption claim engaged MIS to create a detailed timeline for claims from a chain of restaurants across the Southern US worth over $25m.
The problem
Accurately assessing business interruption timelines can be impossible using traditional inspection and investigation methods. Loss adjusting and forensic accounting can go so far, but in this case, evaluating dozens of sites across several States for physical damage and denial of access over a week-long period required advanced intelligence techniques.
The solution
MIS analysts develop an intelligence collection plan for each piece of work we complete. We have years of experience acting as expert witnesses for London market insurers on complex coverage and defence disputes. We knew the questions that the client needed answering, which told us the sources to look at.
We can access satellite and aerial imagery from catalogues spanning the last 20 years, so a before and after comparison to verify physical damage from any date range is something we are highly skilled at. Imagery comparison also helps to verify ingress and egress (whether customers and staff could access sites on which days and how patterns compared to other locations close by).
We then investigated local cordons and road closures, law and order measures such as curfews, security and emergency services response, IoT, CCTV, social media and news.
Fusing all of these sources together delivered a rich and detailed report of the business interruption to each site.
The Results
MIS’ detailed report and irrefutable timeline of events were used to quantify the claim and reduce it by half accurately.
Our investigation was so thorough and our insight so unique and reliable that at the mention of our involvement in a similar dispute later that year, the same broker decided to settle the claim rather than pursue litigation.
We offer insight into the most difficult claims questions facing the insurance industry.
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