Winter Risk Management: advice on managing seasonal risks

Rebecca Saunders: So with winter just around the corner, we need to start thinking about how our customers can prepare for the events that could be potentially coming ahead, all those sort of conditions that they come and any preparation that we can help them with.

Tanya Bellamy: So it's no surprise that during the winter months we see an increase in volume of weather related claims, whether it be named storms and other weather events throughout the UK. So in commercial property in this year, we've seen more [weather-related] claims year-to-date than what we've seen in 2023. But this is mostly due to the named storms that we had in January this year. In terms of cold weather and freeze events, our main cause of claim is escape of water but as a result of burst water pipes. So we typically see, from the last event, we saw an increase of 75% in terms of volumes around these claims. It all depends of course how widespread the weather event is.

Rebecca: Yeah. And we see that from obviously the damage that comes on the buildings as well isn't it, from the snowfall, that heavy snowfall that potentially could have on there. Then you're starting to look at the damage that that's creating to all the buildings, the roofs and making sure that they're not bowing, collapsing because that can happen. Louvre systems obviously they can all be frozen over, and, of course, pipes, sprinklers in particular can be impacted from the frozen weather. So again there's things that clients can do to prepare their buildings for it. Any repairs that they've got that are due on the buildings make sure they're done before that winter season.

Tanya: So I've mentioned the impact of the flooding being widespread. And so [Storm] Babet, that impacted the whole of the UK and we saw in commercial property alone significant amount of claims. We had 124 and that's not to mention on our direct book, which will be a lot higher than that. But that compared to the weather events that I mentioned earlier, which were the five events in December '23 and January '24, across those we only received 55 claims, but they were because they were more localised to their regions.

Rebecca: Yeah, we tend to find, you're right, flooding is, it can be localised, but it's generally up and down the country as well. And I think some of the issues that we see is whereby the premises are flooded. That means that the stock and all the materials that they've got there it can leave people in a place whereby they can't fulfil orders. It can have such a negative impact on the business. So whilst we can't eliminate the risk of flooding, what we can do is get our customers to prepare for it. So things like checking with the environmental agency, understanding what weather is on its way and understanding that having a flood kit ready. So things like, you know, fresh water, wellies, all sort of clothes to try and keep you dry. Having a plan in place, that's a big preparation that they can do, but not just having that plan, but making sure that they can put it into place and it works. Non-return valves, that sort of thing, all of that will help prepare the premises against the risk of flooding. Also, ensuring that your gutters and your valleys are kept clear of debris because it's surprising the amount that we see in there. Monitoring the weather, making sure that your understanding of what weather conditions are coming along and also just thinking about your utility services. So in the event of a power cut what you're going to do with that, again being prepared is always key to good risk management.

Tanya: We also see an increase in our motor claims volumes as a result of hazardous driving conditions too. Particularly in the ice and the rain, and the snow, not always with a third party involved either, so quite often, unfortunately, we see quite serious accidents involved with just gliding into buildings and trees.

Rebecca: Yeah, of course, driving in the winter is so different from driving in the summer where we've got good, clear conditions. And you know some journeys, if they're a long journey, you could go from it being very clear to suddenly being foggy to suddenly being icy. So you have to prepare for that whole journey ahead of you. And there's a little acronym that we use that's for general checks throughout the year. So that's FORCES. So F being fuel, making sure that you've got plenty of fuel in your vehicle for that journey and knowing that there could be delays. O is for oil. Checking your oil is right in your car. You don't want engine failure from that. R is rubber. So windscreen wipers and tyres. So, generally 1.6 millimetres is good for your tread, but in the winter, you should be looking more for three millimetres. C is for coolant, so you could be in queues of traffic where you're sitting in poor weather. So again, we don't want that engine overheating. E is for electrics and particularly if you've got an electric vehicle, you know, making sure that that battery is fully charged up because in the winter months an electric vehicle, the battery on it is going to deplenish a lot quicker than it is through the summer. You've got your lights on, you've got your heater on, so that's important. And S being the last one, is your screen wash. So we all know that when there's grit on the roads and the windscreen is really dirty, you need to keep that clear to get good visibility.

Tanya: That's a great reminder. We also see a real increase in volumes in terms of slips, trips and falls and liability claims. Both employers liability and public liability claims throughout the winter season. So particularly with festive period upon us now and the New Year period, we see that there's lots of claims coming in for those slips, trips and falls at those outdoor events, with the additional demand on their business and staff shortages at that time, then sometimes it's just really important to make sure that, things like security, cleaning and those roles are not forgotten.

Rebecca: So, yeah, slips, trips and falls are a common cause of injury that we see, and, as you said, particularly in the winter time.  And I think it's not just, you know, particular to the person that's been injured and the impact of that, but for the business as well, they're already down on staff as you said and stretched, and also the bad publicity that may come off the back of that. So there are things that they can do, and particularly around our commercial customers, putting signs out to make sure that their customers can see that there could be a potential issue here with slipping. Cleaning of the buildings, the areas that they're first entering into and the car parks, of course, that they may be using. So making sure that they've got the kits ready for that, the cleaning kits, and that they can deploy them and that the staff are well prepared that they need to move on it quite quickly.

Tanya: We are still seeing cases of underinsurance. So I think we need to work together to make sure that our customers are getting the right levels of cover and also the appropriate levels of indemnity periods as well for business interruption claims, to ensure that we're protecting financial risks for both the customer and the insurance company.

Rebecca: Yeah, absolutely. And it's something that we see on site as well, Tanya. You know, as you said, underinsurance has a lot of impact in a lot of different ways. So we do have specialist partners that we work with that can help our customers with this. And equally, we have tools on our website that we utilise and a lot of other information that can help support clients through the winter period and beyond that, so that's on the ARMS website.

Tanya: Yeah, that's really interesting. And I think our ask as well from a claims perspective, that, having discussed all of the things that we spoke about today, that in the unfortunate event that our customers have a claim to actually report the claim to us timely, to prevent any delays and actually provide some quality information of what's happened and the circumstances and the contact details of all the stakeholders that need to be contacted throughout the claim to enable us to deal with it as quickly as possible.

Rebecca: And I think you know, prevention is key, isn't it? If we can prevent these happening in the first place, then that's great for our customers and keeping them safe. So thank you, Tanya, for joining me. I really appreciate you taking the time to do this and to talk about how we can support our customers.