Storm Dudley, Eunice and Franklin

Updates

Feb 21, 2022

Our teams have been working all weekend and ramping up to meet further demand today.

It has been a busy period for our UK team, as Storm Franklin is the third named storm in a week - following Dudley and Eunice - the first time this has happened since the storm-naming system was introduced in 2015.

Claim numbers are four to five times higher than business as usual levels. Our Data Science team is monitoring claim patterns closely and is predicting that this trio of storms will generate three times the number of claims as Storm Arwen in November.

As well as responding to agriculture, commercial, domestic and high net worth claims, our managed repair team, Crawford Contractor Connection, has been responding to claims direct and carrying out emergency repairs.

Our early planning and increased use of technology has proved invaluable as claims from Eunice come in across Wales, south-west, south-east and east of England. We are now receiving claims in Northern Ireland, north of England and Scotland because of Storm Franklin which proved more powerful than early predictions.

Crawford is also preparing for claims from these storms in Europe with claims already received in the Netherlands and Germany.

There is severe flooding in parts of Northern Ireland and hundreds of flood warnings remain in place across England, Scotland and Wales. Matlock town centre is flooded and other locations with a history of flooding are on high alert. We are monitoring closely but are ready to respond to any claims.

The level of damage caused by Dudley, Eunice and Franklin should not be underestimated. The strength of these storms has caused major damage to many properties across the UK.

Lisa Bartlett
President, UK & Ireland

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Feb 18, 2022

An increased number of claims is being reported but we expect to have a clearer indication of claim volume over the weekend / early Monday. The storm is still active with calls predominantly coming in from Devon, Cornwall and Wales. We do expect to see a significant number of claims across London and the south-east of England over the coming days.

Our data science team continues to track claim volume, severity of claims and the path of the storm. As well as monitoring the impact of Storm Eunice, we are watching the situation in Northern Ireland and Scotland closely where there are yellow warnings for snow, ice and wind.

Emergency response

Our managed repair solution, Crawford Contractor Connection, is busy with emergency repairs, contractors are mobilised, and we have increased call capacity.

We are prioritising claims where reasonable adjustments need to be made to support vulnerable customers.

Technology

Our RPA solution to speed up FNOL and direct claims to the right solution – Crawford Loss Adjusting, Crawford Validation Services and Crawford Contractor Connection – is helping us to meet the increased pace of claim notifications and get assistance quickly to those that need it most.

Our IT experts will be working all weekend to support our people and technology solutions. With many people still working from home, this support will be invaluable.

Our people

Field and desk-based adjusters will be working this weekend as will our call handlers. Our people are proud to be helping communities affected, morale is good amongst the team, and they are ready to help restore and rebuild after this severe weather event.

Lisa Bartlett
President, UK & Ireland

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Feb 17, 2022

Storm Dudley

This storm caused major disruption with North Wales experiencing gusts of up to 80 mph, while West Yorkshire and South Lanarkshire saw 70 mph winds. However, claim numbers from this storm are well within business-as-usual numbers. It is all about preparing for Storm Eunice now.

Storm Eunice

Crawford has increased its surge plan status to red and we are preparing so that we can respond should the worst happen. We have mobilised people, increased capacity and weekend working for our:

• First notification of loss teams.
• Emergency out-of-hours service.
• Adjusting field and desk teams.
• Agriculture adjusting teams.
• Managed repair network, Contractor Connection.

If the Met Office’s forecast is correct and the path of Storm Eunice follows its predicted path, then we anticipate that claim volumes could be seven to eight times greater than claims from Storm Arwen.

Wind gusts of over 80 mph are likely to cause damage to some sound buildings and with the storm predicted to cross heavily populated areas, the potential for high claims numbers is extremely likely.

We are expecting to see damage to roofs, damage caused by fallen trees and with the storm predicted to cross Devon and Cornwall then there is potential for damage to wind turbines and solar panels. Our engineering team is primed and ready to respond to claims as well.

Technology

Our investment in technology to speed up the claims process and reduce the administrative burden on our adjusters will come into its own should Eunice deliver the predicted devastation.

We will be deploying RPA to speed up FNOL and direct claims to the right solution – Crawford Loss Adjusting, Crawford Validation Services and Crawford Contractor Connection. These solutions have already proven their worth during Storms Arwen, Barra and Corrie.

The use of our online platforms will allow customers to submit claim details, photographs, etc. This will allow us to focus on our customers, give a rapid response and dedicate time to value-added claims activity.

Ready to respond. Day or night.

You can be sure that Crawford will be there with the right team, the right technology, and the right processes to help your customers restore and rebuild. Our client account directors will be providing regular updates today and tomorrow.

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Feb 15, 2022

Crawford's surge plan status has been changed to amber and we have taken steps to ensure we can respond. We have mobilised people, increased capacity and weekend working for our:

• First notification of loss teams.
• Emergency out-of-hours service.
• Adjusting field and desk teams.
• Agriculture adjusting teams.
• Managed repair network, Contractor Connection.

We are liaising with all suppliers to ensure we have capacity for disaster restoration, alternative accommodation, etc.

With the Met Office warning flying debris could result in fallen trees, damage to buildings and homes, roofs blown off and power lines brought down, we will move adjusters to the worst affected areas if the storm causes this extent of damage.

Arwen, Barra and Corrie have already wreaked havoc for parts of the UK and now we are gearing up for Storms Dudley and Eunice that will hit the UK within days of each other, but the biggest concern is the second storm that will hit on Friday.

Eunice has the potential to become a large-scale weather event with extremely strong winds predicted to hit widely populated inland areas of the UK. Gusts of 80 mph are expected across major towns and cities in England and Wales. Coastal areas are used to strong winds, but it is rare for heavily populated areas such as Birmingham or London to be exposed to such strong winds.

High tidal levels are also expected bringing the potential of localised coastal flooding across western and southern coastal areas.

Technology

Our investment in technology to speed up the claims process and reduce the administrative burden on our adjusters will come into its own should Dudley and Eunice deliver the predicted devastation. The use of our online platforms will allow customers to submit claim details, photographs, etc. This will allow us focus on our customers, give a rapid response and dedicate time to value-adding claims activity.

Crawford Validation Services (Crawford Inspection Services, WeGoLook, YouGoLook) will be available to assist with claims handling and have already proven their worth during Storms Arwen, Barra and Corrie.