This market briefing will provide an overview of misappropriation losses across late 2019 to date covering the span of the COVID-19 pandemic, and focus upon the impact COVID-19 has had on the scale of losses, the difficulties in conducting stock surveys, and steps to assist prevention.

Description

Misappropriation, and associated warehouse losses arising through fraud, have long been a significant problem affecting the storage of a wide range of commodities in warehouses all over the world. The last decade alone has seen more than US$ 2 billion in claims arising from such perils, with little change in how these types of loss arise.

Deception sits at the core of all misappropriations and commodity frauds, subjecting Assureds and Underwriters alike to losses that can range well into tens of millions of USD, if not occasionally into the hundreds of millions. The unwary fall victim to this crime, often hidden by control of the access to those stocks, and the verification of ownership.

Access to stocks for Assureds, surveyors and collateral managers has been a critical component of current defences aimed at preventing misappropriation. However, restrictions on travel, and the movement of goods, arising from the COVID-19 pandemic have made access much more difficult. At this market briefing, our guest speaker, with extensive experience of investigating these types of claim, will examine those challenges, illustrate the issues between traditional and remote surveys in practical context, and consider what impact COVID-19 has had on these types of claims.

Speaker

• Joe Corless, Operations Director, Gray Page