When a drunk driver hit a stopped bucket truck belonging to Cambium Tree Care and Preservation, the damage was extensive. “The cabin, the front of the truck, all of that was pretty damaged, so it was one those ‘wrong place at the wrong time’ for the Cambium guys, but nevertheless everybody was okay and the truck is in the process of being repaired,” explained Chad Gibson, Senior Partner at Silver Bridge Insurance Brokerage and Cambium Tree Care and Preservation’s broker.
As you would expect, as soon as the accident occurred, Cambium reached out to Gibson to file the claim. After gathering the information, Gibson began working with NIP Group to get the claim processed.
While the claim was pretty straightforward, Gibson said there was a bit of a delay in the process initially when the individual who was intoxicated tried to blame the accident on the Cambium team. The Claims team at NIP Group stayed on top of getting the attorney any information they needed and the accusation was quickly deemed to be inaccurate.
From there, the field adjuster assessed the damage and determined that the existing cab could be patched and repaired instead of replaced; however, once the body shop took a look, they didn’t feel comfortable welding it together. After consulting with Cambium, both parties felt that the damaged parts should be replaced instead of repaired, so Gibson asked the NIP Group/Sedgwick Claims Manager to help them come to a solution.
The Claims Manager was instrumental in not only moving the claim through faster, but helping the parties involved to understand the differences in terminology and gaps in coverages to figure out who is responsible for fixing what, etc.
After weighing the expertise of everyone involved and taking the time to understand the concerns of both the body shop and Cambium Tree Care and Preservation, they came to an agreement.
“I got him [the Claims Manager] involved for a better understanding of the policy terms and limits and things of that nature. Once we got him involved and both parties understood the exposure, for example if the body shop welded it and something were to happen, and then Cambium also saying they didn’t feel comfortable putting their drivers in a repaired instead of a replaced cab, everything got worked out,” Gibson said.
The necessary parts have been ordered and are in the process of being painted so that the truck can get back in action as quickly as possible.
“A lot of time we [brokers] can be hesitant to get involved in claims because the verbiage can get confused between two or three parties, but instead of leaving the insured out to dry to figure it out themselves we have NIP Group to help support us.”