In just one month (let’s take May 2023 as an example), Product Safety Australia (an initiative of the Australian Competition & Consumer Commission), published 26 product recall notices. These covered a myriad of products, ranging from lithium batteries within vehicles at risk of fire, as well as a multimeter at risk of exploding, a toy mouse presenting risk of internal burn injuries, through to a baby rattle identified as a choking hazard. The variety of products and the nature of the risk provides a fair snapshot of the types of claims we handle in the product liability and product recall space here at Crawford.
Put simply, product liability insurance is intended to cover an insured for sums they become legally liable to pay, arising in connection with the insured’s products. For example, where a personal injury event is caused by a manufacturing defect in a household appliance supplied by the insured, the claimant (end user) could make a claim against the insured for damages.
Product recall insurance is also intended to cover the costs of removing an insured’s products from the market. For example, let’s assume that in the above example, the defect was discovered to be present in all appliances manufactured by the insured between June 2022 and May 2023. A product recall would then be required by law to prevent further harm to the general public and, subject to policy conditions and exclusions, the insured’s product recall insurance policy would be triggered.
Our ‘One Crawford’ model is uniquely placed to provide peace of mind that all i’s will be dotted and all t’s crossed when these situations arise.
One Crawford is about full ‘end-to-end’ claims management, managing claims from initial notification to final resolution, with no disconnect or handoffs between various suppliers relevant to the claim. And, it’s particularly relevant when it comes to product liability or product recall claims.
Crawford TPA has the capacity and infrastructure to manage claims from single events through to multiple third-party approaches which may arise when a recall is not actioned in time to prevent mass harm, along with policy interpretation. Crawford TPA will manage all inputs to the claim that are required along the claim journey, including full oversight from start to finish.
Our industry-leading liability loss adjusters have expertise that is deep and eminent when it comes to investigating the circumstances giving rise to the claim, and providing insight in relation to cause, extent of loss, legal liability, policy indemnity, and quantum.
The team at Crawford Forensic Accounting Services is always on stand-by to provide interrogation of the loss figures and costs presented by claimants and the insured, to confirm accurate settlement and minimisation of leakage.
While many TPA and loss adjusting houses promise to keep lawyers at bay to reduce costs, we know that the targeted use of lawyers (especially in situations as serious as product recall) is the key to reducing costs. HBA Legal, Crawford’s fully-owned law firm, is one of Australia’s leading defendant insurance law specialists. The HBA team can seamlessly step in offering legal support if claims are escalated to the Courts, or indeed if legal strategy is needed to head off claims at the pass before they reach the courtroom. Not to mention, in collaboration with our loss adjusting team, HBA can pursue the subrogated recoveries in such matters as well. Our model has proved, time and again, that early legal intervention and rapid, holistic risk/ legal review (as ‘standard’ at key points of the product recall or liability claims journey) is key to saving clients’ money.
Our unrivalled model is a truly an all-encompassing solution perfectly equipped to handle product liability and product recall claims seamlessly, end-to-end. When all the relevant experts are under one roof, we eliminate the divide between those experts that are typically seen when multiple suppliers are involved in the one claim. This approach reduces cost because you don’t create a scenario where each supplier (or expert) is going over the same ground (and charging for it), in order to validate claims.
Get in touch if we can help: jon.stagg@crawco.com.au
