Catastrophe Management
Large Scale Restoration and Remediation
In January 2011, many parts of South East Queensland were devasted by floods. In the greater Brisbane metro area, more than 20,000 houses were directly impacted by the rising waters. A number of these buildings were in some of the older suburbs of the city and contained asbestos and other hazardous materials. At the time Vince headed up the Restoration division of an international Loss Adjusting organisation. The company received many domestic, commercial and industrial claims, most requiring some form of Water Damage Restoration (WDR). Extra resources and contractors had to be brought in from other States for the project which extended over two years.
Key Considerations:
Triaging of which properties to remediate first was important
Access to some properties was restricted until the infrastructure had been made safe and restored
Many insurance policies didn’t cover flood, leading to significant public anger, sometimes taken out on staff and contractors
Most of the older homes had to be stripped of asbestos before the restorers could commence drying and mould remediation
Already stretched resources then had to cope with Cyclone Yasi a few weeks later
Some observations and challenges with this flood event were:
Community groups were quick to form and assist in clearing out flooded houses. While this was well-intentioned, it sometimes caused additional problems. One example was the removal of wall sheeting, which the volunteers had presumably thought was plasterboard, when in fact it was friable Low-Density Board. By the time that we arrived, there had been extensive cross-contamination.
Another example was stripping off too much plasterboard in lightly flooded homes. Restorers would’ve removed only to the 1200mm join and saved the top sections (especially relevant where the property owner had no insurance cover).
A key management element of this project was conflict resolution with clients, who were often frustrated by the delays in attending to their properties. This called for a high level of empathy and explanation of the process that had to be followed.
The jobs ranged from small garage clean-ups to multi-million-dollar waterside mansions belonging to very High Net Worth clients. Efficient resource allocation meant constant liaison between the Insurers, Loss Adjusters, contractors and homeowners. Managerial involvement at an early stage was critical in defusing potential conflicts.
VALUE OUTCOMES
Client Management
Commendation from the Insurer’s General Manager
Growth
Used this event to dramatically build the type and scope of internal services that the Division provided.
Resourcing
Sourced high-quality restoration and asbestos contractors
Reputation
The Division’s performance cemented a good reputation, both internally and externally