Padiham engineering company praises insurance cover for helping them bounce back from Boxing Day floods

Almost one year on from the Boxing Day floods that could have put them out of business, Padiham’s Xavier Engineering reflects on the first class service their insurance company and insurance brokers provided to guide them through a stressful time.

Located off Wyre Street in Padiham, an area at the heart of the devastating floods, it was inevitable that their premises would be affected. Yet theirs is a wholly positive story of how swiftly their insurance claim was dealt with to get the business back up and running.

Xavier Engineering’s 3,500 square foot factory floor became entirely flooded on Boxing Day 2015 – yet it was in the following days that the true extent of the damage became known.

He said, “After seeing images on Facebook, we jumped in the car to see the situation in our premises for ourselves, but we couldn’t get anywhere near because of the levels of water from the River Calder in Wyre Street and Fleetwood Road, which were like rivers themselves.

The following day the levels of water had dropped enough to allow Ken and his business partner Debbie Welch access to the building. Greeted by silt and sludge, they began to assess the damage to their machinery and premises and to make contact with their insurers.

“The whole process of claiming on our business insurance was dealt with smoothly. Helen Guy at Financial Affairs was on hand to advise us at every stage, and our insurer NIG arranged brand new machinery and business interruption payments. All in all, we were back up and running within six weeks of the floods. We realised how fortunate we were when other local businesses were waiting months.

Laurence O’Connor, Managing Director at Financial Affairs, said, “With high levels of rainfall and floods becoming more prevalent in the UK, it’s becoming more difficult – and expensive - to get insurance cover. But as the tale of Xavier Engineering highlights, it’s an essential part of an insurance policy for any business close to a flood plain.

“This year we have continued to work with Xavier Engineering to arrange their insurance renewal. To satisfy their insurer – and give themselves peace of mind – they have installed a flood barrier to their roller shutter door and doorways, which they have designed and manufactured themselves.” After the worst possible start, 2016 has turned out to be a great year for Xavier Engineering. Ken McIlvennie added, “2016 has been extremely busy: we’ve expanded with two new machines and won new customers. I think we deserved it after the turmoil of last Christmas!”