Gippsland bushfires

Crawford has mobilised its property and forensic accounting teams to restore and enhance lives, businesses and communities in bushfire-ravaged Gippsland in Victoria. Our thoughts are with those who are dealing with the emotional and physical consequences of this event.

Multiple fires currently burning in Gippsland will take some time to extinguish. We are already seeing claim notifications for property. Many businesses not directly impacted by fire are unable to trade. Those located between Drouin and Pakenham are especially impacted, including those in Longwarry, Bunyip, Garfield, Tynong, and Nar Nar Goon. Whilst the closure of the Princes Freeway has been well publicised, excepting limited local access, the road parallel to the main rail line through these towns has also been closed.

Claims for business interruption, whether from direct fire impact or more remote causes have arisen. Denial of access, power interruption, loss of attraction and other factors are relevant to these risks.

Crawford Forensic Accounting Services (CFAS) has geared up for this influx of claims, reinforcing local employees with interstate support as required. We believe many claims lend themselves to desktop assessment. Our CFAS Rapid team is using the tools in the CFAS Toolkit to rapidly assess and quantify these claims.

More complex claims do require site visits. Our teams of experienced property adjusters are already deployed to sites, where access is possible and they are working with Crawford Forensic Accounting Services specialists to consider stock and business interruption aspects. Specialists from Crawford Agriculture are also available for farm and related claims.

For more information about Crawford’s response contact Graham Peters, Martin Miller or David Arthur.

Graham Peters
Regional Manager, CFAS
M: +61 412 719 433
T: +61 3 8646 9652
graham.peters@crawco.com.au

David Arthur
Manager, Regional Victoria
M: +61 409 959175
T: +61 3 5444 6303
david.arthur@crawco.com.au

Tim Jarman
President, Asia-Pacific
M: +61 429 138 857
T: +61 2 8022 7401
tim.jarman@crawco.com.au

Martin Miller
Director Global Technical Services,
Director Forensic Accounting Services
M: +61 402 021 468
T: +61 7 3230 4403
martin.miller@crawco.com.au

Crawford Australia Head Office
T: +61 3 8646 9666
F: +61 3 9685 0066