Stormy times
It has been quite a busy few months here at MA Group – from storm Arwen in November through to storm Franklin in February, we have received at least four times our usual number of claims. So this month we bring you an update on the storms, news of the events we are planning for 2022 and details of our Technical, Large & Complex (TLC) service that we provide for insurers and loss adjusters.
Storm update
They say that after the storm comes the calm, but since storm Arwen in November last year we have seen a quick succession of storms with little calm in between. This month storm Eunice brought gusts of up to 90mph across much of England and Wales, following on from storm Dudley which largely affected the North and Scotland. And then storm Franklin turned up!
The map on the left shows where we received claims for storms Arwen and Barra and the map on the right shows where storms Eunice and Franklin hit. Both pairs of storms affected different parts of the country, creating capacity challenges for the whole industry.
Our staff were in the offices working last weekend and by Monday afternoon our surveyors’ reports were already coming in. At the time of writing this newsletter we are running at 400% of our usual volumes thanks to storms Eunice and Franklin (with more claims to come), but we have managed to contact all customers within 24 hours and have assigned all new storm claims to surveyors within 24 hours.
Luckily we have been able to call on extra surveying capacity from our building contractors who all employ experienced insurance surveyors and validators, thank you to all of those contractors who have provided support. And we are very grateful for all the support and the great response we have had from our staff and surveyors too.
MA Group events 2022
We have been planning our events and networking for 2022 and are delighted to confirm that we are planning the following events.
Supplier forums
This year we be running supplier forums all over the country where we will provide updates and training on various different aspects of working with MA Group. We hope to bring suppliers up to speed and also get feedback from them on our systems and processes, so this is a great opportunity for suppliers to share their thoughts and ideas with us. The first forums will take place in May – 18th May in Aylesbury and 19th May in Knowsley, Birmingham.
Meet the Supplier Day
Following the success of our first Meet the Supplier Day at our offices last year we are planning to do a few more this year, and the first will be on 6th July. We will be welcoming suppliers, clients and intermediaries to come to our offices to do some networking, share information and get updates on our plans here at MA Group.
If you are interested in coming along please get in touch with Tony Derbyshire or contact us through the website.
Charity Golf Day and Dinner
SAVE THE DATE – the MA Group Charity Golf Day and Dinner will be held on 8th September! This is a great networking opportunity for our suppliers, staff and clients and is very popular! Over the years we have raised almost £50,000 for the Oxford Young Adult Clinic through this fun event.
Awards Lunch
Another SAVE THE DATE – 3rd November! We are delighted to confirm that, following the great success of our inaugural awards lunch last year, we will be hosting another awards lunch in 2022. More details will be provided later in the year, but we can tell you that it will be held at the same venue on 3rd November with a new, fabulous, celebrity host and it will be another great celebration of the fantastic work that our suppliers do.
Technical, Large and Complex (TLC)
During February we have been sharing the love, or rather the TLC.
We manage over 200 suppliers (building contractors, surveyors, specialist contractors and disaster restoration branches) across the UK, project managing tens of thousands of claims each year. Over the last few years MA Group has invested in people, processes, systems, technology and technical and specialist expertise so it has never been better placed to meet the technical, large and complex claims management needs of our clients and the wider property claims and house builder industries.
We recognise that more complex claims require additional focus to aid communication with all stakeholders, the co-ordination of multiple supplier partners and oversight by technically expert construction professionals. MA Group’s integrated solution – using our drying, restoration and claims management capabilities alongside our technical experts – ensures we deliver world class Net Promoter Scores for our clients.
MA Group is already trusted by some of the largest insurers, house builders and housing associations in the UK to deliver comprehensive investigation, mitigation, and full restoration services for complex property claim situations across the UK.
The TLC services that we offer include:
We have already worked on many TLC projects and details of some are available on our websites:
A TLC claim in Scotland where heavy rain caused drains to be overwhelmed and the basement of a traditional 19th century tenement property in Edinburgh was flooded. The affected flat was sat on top of the waste drainage system for all 22 flats in the building and neighbouring buildings.
NHCC undertook repairs and replaced multiple flat roofs due to numerous water ingress issues on a 9-storey apartment block.
A complex drying project where, over Christmas 2020, a home for the elderly in Oxfordshire was flooded with up to 45cm of water, affecting the main building with a 300 year old tithe barn, 22 residents’ apartments and four terraced cottages.
A combined restoration and reinstatement project due to an escape of black water from the drains near a large property in Essex. This High Net Worth claim involved a swimming pool featuring two large, stone elephants, a very heavy fountain, palm trees, thatched garden buildings, sheds full of contents, ruined decking and contaminated soil and slabs, with limited access
“The level of detail provided by NHCC in both reporting of issues identified and in explaining the recommendations for remedial works provides confidence.” – property developer.
“Exceptional work from insurers, MA Assist and the builders how everyone has pulled together to make this happen so quickly.” – customer.
Our TLC team is headed up by Roy Benyon, an ex-LABC Board Member who has been Head of Building Control and is a redevelopment specialist with more than 35 years focussed on improving construction standards in the UK
If you would like to find out more about our TLC service please contact Roy Benyon or James Bush
New recruits
We have a couple of new recruits in MA Group Property Claims.
Anthony Holland has joined our account management team. He is an experienced sales and account manager, particularly in the restoration industry, and will be managing accounts across all our claims services including restoration, reinstatement and surveying and validation.
Matthew Clark is our new High Net Worth Claims Manager. He has over 15 years of experience with High Net Worth customers in the insurance industry, most recently for the Lloyds Latchford Group, and he has achieved his IF1, IF5 and IF6 Level 2 certificates in insurance.
MA Group MAD Awards
Our MADdest employee in January was Charlie Key in our Aylesbury Control Centre.
Jack at BRS nominated Charlie, because of how Charlie handled a claim she has been overseeing for a VIP customer. The claim had become stuck but within 24 hours Charlie had managed to negotiate some complicated issues and get the claim moving swiftly. Jack said he was impressed with her application of common sense and her true ownership of the claim, and the way she has supported BRS to get a large value variation approved.
Well done Charlie, you are MAD.
