Education Practice
McGriff advocacy pays off for school's large property loss
Business Issue
Our client sustained a large property loss when a sprinkler pipe broke and flooded their school. They contacted their McGriff Risk Services claim consultant to discuss the situation. Because the building was leased and still within the one year “guarantee” provided by the building owner, the consultant advised the client the building owner should take care of the damage to the building and sprinkler system. A claim was submitted to the client’s carrier for the damage to their contents and their loss of income. The client’s carrier immediately hired a subrogation attorney to pursue the building owner through the guarantee and the sprinkler company for their negligence. By contract, this attorney would retain 33 percent of any recovery by subrogation.
Action Plan
The client received payment from their carrier in the amount of $155,642 for their contents and loss of income. In the meantime, the consultant facilitated multiple conversations with the building owner regarding the one year guarantee in the lease that was intended to cover any building or sprinkler system damage. The consultant also presented an argument to the client’s carrier regarding the subrogation counsel fees and how they should not impact our client’s recovery based on their relationship and contractual agreement with the building owner.
Results
The McGriff Risk Services claim consultant’s persistence paid off for our client. Our client was reimbursed their $75,000 deductible and was not charged subrogation counsel fee expenses. The insurance carrier providing liability coverage for the sprinkler system company also reimbursed the carrier for the claim payment of $155,642 for damages due to their negligence. Settlement for the building and sprinkler system damage of $86,533 was handled by the building owner’s insurance carrier, avoiding a claim against our client’s policy. At the end of the day, our client had all their damages handled at no expense to them and has an even greater appreciation for the claim advocacy provided by their McGriff team.
Individual results will vary.