Case Study #2: 1st Choice Packaging Manufacturers Ltd

Early in 2000 the company was the victim of a most vicious arson attack, which could have proved terminal.

Overnight the premises had been broken into and a machine crucial to the company operation was set alight. The majority of the damage caused was from water from the sprinkler system and not the fire itself.

In July 1999 the company was forced to change insurance company following an earlier attack. The new insurance company insisted upon certain security improvements, which in light of this new claim, they stated had not been properly carried out. The claim was in doubt, the company might not be compensated.

NSG Security Consultants were called in to see if they could resolve the problem. Through a methodical assessment of the security improvements they were able to ascertain that although the measures had not been installed in compliance with British Standards and other insurance industry requirements, the measures were nevertheless capable of operation in the manner required by the insurance company’s risk assessor. The problem was that the risk assessor had failed to make recommendations to secure valuable core business assets, in this case a huge machine which he believed nothing would happen to.

Sean Fletcher, Managing Director of 1 st Choice Packaging said:

“Our Insurance Company were refusing to accept liability on our Insurance Policy. We engaged NSG at our Insurance Company’s request. NSG responded quickly to our situation and provided a professional comprehensive report fairly and accurately. In response, our Insurance Company have now paid out half-a-million pounds to cover our losses, which has saved the business from bankruptcy. I would recommend NSG to anyone needing advice and guidance on security issues. It would not be too strong to say that NSG helped us win our claim, preserving the company and the employees. The response from NSG reflects their reputation – brilliant. The service we received – exceptional.”

A spokesperson for NSG Security Consultants said:

“Business operations and development have changed beyond all recognition over the last decade, but those who offer crime prevention advice fail to realise and take adequate account of this. It is no longer good enough to think in terms of threat and likelihood, one must consider all relevant risks however remote the possibility of them occurring. Had this approach been taken initially, the company would have been aware of the potentially ‘business critical’ implications of damage to (or total loss of) this machine. Relevant risk control measures would have significantly reduced the size of the eventual insurance claim. Thankfully we were able to help. The insurance company has paid out and the company is now once more trading profitably.”