Last week the UK recorded its coldest night of the winter, with the weekend bringing more freezing conditions. In the early hours of Saturday, temperatures in a hamlet in northern Scotland dropped to -18.9C (-2F) - the UK's coldest January night in 15 years.
Meanwhile, The UK Health Security Agency has extended an England-wide amber health alert to Tuesday. The alert, which was previously in place until Sunday, is a sign that cold weather impacts are likely to be felt across the whole health service with the agency noting that, “This weather can have a serious impact on the health of some people, including those aged 65 and over and those with pre-existing health conditions, and it is therefore vital that we continue to check in on friends, family and neighbours that are most vulnerable.”
Offering an update into the conditions sweeping the UK, Mark Farrant (pictured top right), head of commercial property – North at McLarens, noted that, generally, the claims management and loss adjusting specialist is seeing more frequent weather-related surge events. “Although that said, we see lower volumes in the commercial world when compared with the domestic market,” he said.
“Damage has been widespread across regions but damage to the types of risks that we deal with is usually more localised. For example, after Storm Darragh - which was primarily a windstorm - we received claims in various localised areas of Wales and the Midlands, and while the recent heavy rainfall over the New Year caused flooding across the North of England, it was Stockport that was particularly badly affected.”
Farrant added that the heavy rainfall in Stockport caused significant flooding in areas that haven’t flooded since the 1970s. Some of the damage that McLarens has witnessed has been especially severe, he said, with up to 5ft of water in buildings such as schools (plant rooms) and residential blocks of apartments and flats.
Amid new ice warnings and with travel disruption to road and rail services likely, as well as the potential for accidents in icy places, there’s increased consideration about the impact of freezing conditions, and the potential for further snowfall. Touching on this potential impact Farrant noted that snowstorms don’t generally cause as much damage compared to wind or rain storms.
“When snow-storm damage does occur it’s usually due to the inability of structures to cope with the weight of snow, or because roofs leak when snow accumulates, freezes and then thaws,” he said. “When the snow starts to thaw, it can result in damage by water ingress, for instance, through cracks in felt or membrane roof coverings that a policyholder may not previously have been aware of.
“We also see claims for business interruption in more remote locations, for instance in the Lake District where businesses can lose trade if customers can’t reach a venue due to road closures, etc. Whether or not a policy will respond to a loss of this nature will depend on whether there is damage and the particular circumstances in which access has been denied or hindered and the specific cover that a policyholder has arranged.”
It's in times of policyholder strife that brokers really have the opportunity to shine and to demonstrate the critical role they play in the insurance proposition. Times of extreme weather are no exception and Farrant shared his top advice for brokers looking to support their policyholders amid present conditions. “The primary advice I would give to brokers is to notify the claim as soon as possible - such that an adjuster can be appointed to start the mitigation process.
“The sooner we can get to site, the better for all parties involved. We can use our experience and be guided by our in-house mitigation team on the best methods to strip out, dry and reinstate a building. We are always looking for opportunities to defy convention and help the customer get back to business as soon as possible. The sooner we can start this process, the better.”