In December 2024, Vic Noble, regional director, Middle East, was invited to speak on a prestigious webinar hosted by brokers Marsh McLennan. The topic of the day was the recent and totally unprecedented flooding seen in the United Arab Emirates.
He described how, between 13 and 17 April 2024, four storms converged over Dubai, bringing the heaviest rainfall measured since records began in the Emirates nearly eighty years ago. Falling on ground already saturated from storms earlier in the year, flooding was immediate and submerged large areas of the city under at least a metre of water for five days or more.
While the deluge brought more than a year’s worth of rain in a few days, it also triggered a year’s worth of insurance claims for Crawford in the following month. The surge in claims handled by Crawford’s Dubai and Abu Dhabi offices was considerable, with many of these of high value. Site visits would prove challenging, given the damage to the transport infrastructure.
With its global resources, Crawford is uniquely equipped to deal with sharp surges in claims caused by severe events. Six experienced adjusters were immediately seconded from Europe to assist with the new cases, providing a reinforced team to deal with the increased flow of claims as efficiently as possible.
Again leveraging Crawford’s global standing, business interruption claims were referred to Crawford Forensic Accounting Services (CFAS), drawing on yet more support from colleagues in London and Singapore.
For major losses, Crawford assembled a team of senior experts with the relevant skills required for each claim, with external engineering consultants also recruited to assist with loss validation, allowing interim payments to be agreed as early as possible to get repairs started promptly. A dedicated team for major clients and group policies has also been set up, to ensure smooth settlement of these often complex cases.
Crawford’s purpose is to restore lives, businesses and communities. In these most testing circumstances, where the worst had happened for many of our customers, Crawford’s local and global teams combined seamlessly and tirelessly to deliver on that promise.
