vrs PACE handled a major fire loss at a warehouse in Beijer Örnsköldsvik, Sweden that destroyed an entire warehouse and saw facility. A claim team was assembled and investigated the cause of the fire, which was determined to be an electrical fault. The warehouse was rebuilt and operations resumed within 6 months through streamlined procurement and coordination between the insurer's local adjuster and local management to minimize costs and disruption. The initial reserve of 32.4 million SEK was reduced to an actual loss of 14.9 million SEK as operations recovered faster than expected with lower construction costs and shorter loss of profits than anticipated.

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vrs PACE has throughout the years handled several large losses
caused by storms, cloudbursts, snow pressures and fires in the
Nordic countries.
One of the major losses was the fire at Beijer Örnsköldsvik some
years ago, which destroyed an entire warehouse including a saw
facility.
vrs PACE was contacted by the Swedish Property Manager the
following morning. A claim team, including the local adjuster, Bernt
Jansson, was set up.
As soon as the Police had cleared the site, a fire investigation was
carried out in order to state the cause, which was confirmed to have
been an electrical fault in a cable to a woodchip blower.
An intermediate warehouse tent was rented, fixtures and fittings
were ordered. The procurement process was streamlined – allowing
the rebuilding to start in July although this was the prime vacation
period – thereby ensuring that the construction was completed
before the snow started to fall in November.

2. The initial reserve was 32,4 million SEK of which 10,7 million SEK was
for the anticipated loss of gross profit.
Our local adjuster worked closely together with the local
management and constructor – thereby minimizing the friction and,
at the same time, allowing quick decision making. This also allowed
us to follow the costs and to adjust the reserve accordingly.
We were impressed by the local management´s approach and ability
to deliver and to keep the major clients content. The management
was allowed to “spend” on increased customer communication
such as advertising and market activities, including a very popular
Friday morning “hot dog” service for all customers. These loss
mitigation measures proved to be highly successful.
The initial reserve of 32,4 million SEK was gradually lowered to loss
of 14,9 million SEK. The construction costs were slightly lower than
predicted. The loss of gross profit only occurred during four months
instead of the predicted nine months. The operations were back in
black figures and the warehouse was inaugurated some 6 months
later.
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3. Franz Öberg, Regional Manager commented: “As soon as we had
confirmation from the fire brigade that the fire had not spread to the
other buildings we started to act. There was nothing that could stop
us from opening the gates the next day at 06.30 and fulfill our
deliveries of all our orders.
We got a local sawmill to work all night and cut the wooden materials
ordered, we called all our major customers confirming that we would
fulfill our commitments and so forth.
Not having had any experience of dealing with Insurers previously I
somewhat feared that this could be a mountain to climb. I was
wrong. The early interim payment was very well received.
The recommendation of carrying out risk analysis throughout the
entire project assisted us in giving priority to the right issues such as
loss of market, gross profit, work safety issues, cost control, etc.
I have, during the entire claims handling process, felt that the
Insurers and loss adjusters have been easy to access and played
an important role in the decision taking and fulfillment of the
claim.
The ability to understand our trade and the attentive support for
taking various actions in order to mitigate the loss of market and
profit was crucial and of mutual benefit.”
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