Ciarko is the biggest producer of high-quality hoods in Poland, held in high esteem in all of Europe. Our client, whose factory was destroyed by a major fire, swiftly resumed production with our support within a month. We are proud to share this story highlighting the crucial role of professional customer support in challenging times.
Hazards arise at any businesses, regardless of the industry or scale of operations. This fact been also demonstrated by our Polish client Ciarko, whose factory was destroyed by a major fire in June 2022, putting the future of the company in question. Thanks to quick and professional intervention, with our support as insurer, Ciarko resumed production in replacement halls just less than a month after the fire.
The restart of production in such a short period of time was successful due to well-coordinated cooperation between Ciarko's management and team of specialists, external consultancies, as well as Colonnade.
It was crucial to take quick but well-considered action aimed at minimising the effects of the incident, limiting the cost of restoring production capacity, as well as establishing the actual value of the losses incurred. The team of specialists focused on estimating the actual impact of the fire on the company's financial health - e.g. preparing an assessment of the scale of damage to assets and lost production (and sales) or determining the scale of the expenditure required to rebuild machinery, buildings and production processes.
According to Ciarko, we as the insurer significantly contributed to reducing the time it took for the company to return to normal operations.
The fire that broke out in the company not only led to very large losses in production assets, but also caused an interruption in operations, which could have led to the loss of key customers and, consequently, the market position of Ciarko Company built up over the years. Colonnade's commitment, professionalism and quick decisions regarding advance payment of damages had a very significant impact on restoring and maintaining credibility with our counterparties. I also appreciate the fact that Colonnade provided insurance cover in the subsequent period, despite the payment of high damages, says Ryszard Ziarko, President of the Management Board of Ciarko.
Effective corporate claims handling helps to maintain the stability - and often the continuity - of an injured company's operations by going beyond activities of a technical nature (e.g. rebuilding a hall or repairing machinery). Good cooperation between the company and the insurer can be a supporting element in managing relations with internal and external stakeholders. One key element of such cooperation is reliable communication that improves the company's image and increases the trust of its customers and business partners.
I think the work we have done together with Ciarko is a good example of our aspiration to set the standard in the area of customer service and business support in difficult times. I am delighted that we have been able to demonstrate our willingness to meet a really difficult challenge and provide Ciarko with the highest quality support. I'm proud of the fact that Colonnade's team of claims adjusters, in collaboration with proven and reliable third-party partners, give customers real value when they need it most, adds Maciej Winnicki, head of claims at Colonnade’s Polish branch.