Just as contingent liabilities can depress shareholder value, unexpected business losses can negatively impact operations and earnings at any time. Whether caused by a natural disaster, fire, mechanical failure, or other impacts, these events require quick action and professional care to minimize business disruptions and allow company management to focus on their core business while navigating these complex claim processes. In addition to our significant experience assisting insureds and insurers with “third-party” liability and property and casualty losses, LLM also assists insureds with preparing and negotiating claims made for various business loss, including:

• Business Interruption
• Property Damage
• Catastrophic Loss
• Product Defect/Product Recall
• Mechanical, Utility Failures or Other Service Interruption
• Contingent Business Interruption
• Construction Issues (Builder’s Risk, Surety, Wrap Programs)
• Subrogation Claims
• Fidelity and Fraud Claims

While proper claim calculation and documentation is important in any claim, it is even more crucial in claim-based policies. Without thorough documentation and highly credible and defensible analyses, large portions of a loss will be rejected by carriers. LLM provides clients with the requisite experience, skill, and professional care to guide them through the steps in this process:

Evaluation and Planning

• Review the policy for coverage, limits/sublimits, deductibles, exclusions, and other key provisions
• Identify and assess impact of other coverage (e.g. NFIP policies)
• Assist in recovery planning for repairs and operations, as necessary
• Establish accounting procedures for accurately tracking losses
• Prepare initial loss estimates for internal reserving/planning and requests for advances

Claim Preparation and Submission

• Quantify and document property damage and real property losses, as appropriate
• Track and document all extra expenses related to the loss
• Quantify lost profits, including properly categorizing losses to coverage and appropriately applying limits, exclusions, and deductibles
• Prepare and present claim analysis, summaries, and supporting documentation

Claim Negotiation and Resolution

• Respond to questions, inquiries, and requests for additional documentation
• Compare opposing analyses and counter-proposals, including sensitivity analyses to understand material areas of disagreement
• Advise on further settlement negotiations and assist in final resolution, as requested

In many cases, our claim preparation work is covered under the policy, greatly reducing the out-of-pocket costs and other losses resulting from the impact and the subsequent claim process.