For a company like Aon, sectors like food and drink manufacturing are our lifeblood. The industry employs over 400,000 people in the UK, accounts for more than £80bn in annual turnover and we are proud to work with many of the sector’s leading companies in the UK and across the world.

1. UK food and drink market
update 2016
A review of insurance market conditions for buyers and risk managers
Aon Risk Solutions
National | Food and Drink Practice
Risk. Reinsurance. Human Resources.

2. Table of Contents
Introduction – Guy Malyon, Head of ARS UK Broking, London . . . . . . . . 3
Your property and premises – An improving picture . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 5
Your employees and the public – Room for manoeuvre . . . . . . . . . . . . . 7
Your vehicles – The end of whiplash? . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 8
Protecting your cash flow – Credit where it’s due . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 9
Product liability and crisis management – Avoiding drama. . . . . . . . . . 11
Cyber liability – Message getting through?. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 12
The outlook for claims – Slow pace of reform. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 13

3. Aon Risk Solutions 3
Introduction
– Guy Malyon, Head of ARS UK Broking, London
For a company like Aon, sectors like food and drink manufacturing are our life
blood. The industry employs over 400,000 people in the UK, accounts for
more than £80bn in annual turnover and we are proud to work with many
of the sector’s leading companies in the UK and across the world.
As managers of risk and insurance, you will know
the challenges facing your business; food price
deflation, the national living wage, regulatory
oversight, pressure for betterment and above all,
competition for market share.
But how do these factors translate into a risk
profile and what effect can they have so that
insurers want to underwrite them at a good
price, or lower, than last time around?
Like any responsible supplier, we know that
the answer to delivering a good service is to
ensure our customers are fully furnished with the
facts that may influence their buying decisions.
This report provides the context so that food
and drink organisations can understand how
those factors are influencing the price of their
risk in 2016.
Competition, everywhere
Just as your industry faces tough competition,
so it is the case for insurers. Rates for the key
business lines of property and casualty (55.5%
of total food and drink industry insurance
spend2
) have typically been falling and the
picture is broadly positive for buyers with many
manufacturers expecting stable prices in 2016
after a year in which renewals frequently
achieved discounts (see tables overleaf).
Insurers themselves are looking towards economies
of scale and 2015 was a year in which mergers
almost took centre stage. A surplus of capital in
the insurance market drove the likes of XL and
Catlin together, while Ace surprised many with its
takeover of Chubb. Interestingly, the latter brand
has now been adopted globally by the group.
The most significant deal for food manufacturers
in the UK had it happened, would have been
the acquisition of RSA by Zurich Insurance.
The potential £5.4bn transaction would have
influenced the programmes of many buyers in
the UK and refreshed memories of the M&A
fever which saw names like General Accident and
Commercial Union become CGU before quickly
being swallowed up by Norwich Union (now
Aviva). Many of the same economic indicators exist
today as they did when UK insurers consolidated in
the late 1990s and early 2000s. With today’s players
struggling to push through the kinds of prices they
might prefer to charge, it seems inevitable that
partnerships will once again seem favourable.
New options available
While price reductions are available, there is more
opportunity in 2016 to enhance cover and add
new products to a programme. Aon has been
seeing an increase in enquiries for its weather
products which are becoming more competitively
priced for companies at the larger end of the
scale. Businesses continue to suffer seasonal losses
and these products which pay out based on a
pre-defined ‘tolerance’ to climatic conditions are
making increasing amounts of sense to buyers and
finance directors alike.
Also at the larger end of manufacturing where
captive programmes are more common, Aon has
been instructed on an increasing number of loss
portfolio transfers (LPTs). This trend is a result of
the appetite within traditional insurance markets
to win new business; LPTs eliminate the need for
the captive owner to post collateral to cover its
risk and deliver a level of certainty (i.e. no need
to prop up prior year reserves) which is otherwise
not possible.
1
Source: Food and Drink Federation
2
Source: Aon GRIP 2014

4. 4 UK food and drink market update 2016
Risks on the horizon
Hardly a ‘new risk’ but changes in the climate
affect the food industry more acutely than
most. Therefore we chose ‘El Nino’ as our number
one risk for the sector, not least because of its
potential to impact commodity prices and spread
risk and uncertainty right across the supply chain.
Aon’s 2013 report Commodity Price Volatility, the
Role of Risk Management, highlighted how many
food manufacturers are lacking the sort of cohesive
risk management systems which can help them
manage uncertainty. In the absence of such
a programme which integrates every aspect of
their operations, some companies may struggle
to maintain profitability, service and compliance
if prices become unpredictable.
Our second key risk for 2016 is much closer to
home. The new Insurance Act comes into force
in August 2016 and aims to rebalance fairness for
both parties of an insurance contract. Aon has
already taken steps to ensure that our clients have
the requisite knowledge about how the law is
changing and we will continue to work with you
in this regard.
Guy Malyon
Head of ARS UK Broking, London
guy.malyon@aon.co.uk
The Insurance Act
– what does it mean for you?
The Act will impose a range of new duties on us as brokers, on insurers
and also on you as buyers of insurance.
The most significant of these will require you to meet a new duty to
make a fair presentation of the risk. While the definition of ‘material
information’ has not changed, the new disclosure duty is more
prescriptive than the current law in describing from whom such
knowledge needs to be obtained and the manner of disclosure.
For example the Act states that what ”the insured knows” is deemed to
include knowledge held by the insured’s senior management (i.e. those
who make decisions about managing and organising the insured’s
activities) and individuals with responsibility for the insured’s insurance.
The definition of “senior management” is intentionally flexible so that
is suits companies of all shapes and sizes. Of course the more complex
your company structure e.g. company control is vested in several
operating divisions, the more individuals you will need to consult for
risk information.
Additionally you will be required to disclose material information
that your senior management and individuals with responsibility for
your insurance “ought to know”. This means that they will need to
carry out a reasonable search of not just information held by ‘the
insured’ but also by ‘any other person’. This includes agents and
persons covered by the insurance (e.g. a director or officer), but is
open to interpretation and may go far wider than this e.g. to include
consultants or service providers.
Finally you need to avoid data dumping i.e. providing large volumes
of information without sufficient structure. All disclosures need
to be accessible and clearly presented, structured, indexed and
sign-posted. We will of course continue to work with you in order
to achieve this.
4.0%
2.0%
0.0%
-2.0%
-4.0%
-6.0%
-8.0%
Q3 ‘14
-2.7%
1.3% 1.3%
2.5%
-0.1%
-6.8%
Q4 ‘14 Q1 ‘15 Q2 ‘15 Q3 ‘15 Q4 ‘15
[Forecast]
Food System, Agribusiness and Beverage –
All Products Percentage Change in Rates at Renewal
FY2014 - GBR Food, Agribusiness & Beverage
Premium by Product
34.5%
18.4%
15.3%
8.5%
7.0%
5.9%
3.4%
6.8%
n Property
n Health & Benefits
n Employers
Liability/Workers
Compensation
n Automobile
n Casualty/Liability
n Marine
n Crisis Management
n Other

5. Aon Risk Solutions 5
Your property and premises
– An improving picture
Property accounted for 34.5%3
of the food and drink sector’s overall premium
spend in 2014, dwarfing its budget for employers’ liability (15.3%) and healthcare
and benefits (18.4%). According to Aon GRIP data, rates for property insurance
for the United Kingdom were flat in Q3 2014 (-0.18%) and softened slightly in the
same quarter 2015 (-0.59%), reflecting a continued pattern of softening which has
pervaded the market in both property and casualty lines for more than a decade.
In the food manufacturing sector specifically,
well managed risks frequently achieve discounts
in excess of 15% and the industry’s focus on
safety and resilience in recent years appears
to be bearing fruit in the form of fewer large
losses and a more manageable risk profile.
If consolidation continues in the insurance
market, this could impact buyers in a variety
of ways. For property risks, the picture may be
influenced by insurers willing to take larger slices
of major accounts and risk managers therefore
seeing fewer layers on large programmes.
From a buyers’ point of view this may be
beneficial in helping to smooth claims handling
in the event of loss, but competitiveness
could be impacted if a merger on the scale of
Zurich/RSA emerges once again in 2016.
Food manufacturing remains a hazardous
sector and while insurers have experienced
a series of fairly benign years in relation to
property claims, their demand for transparency
over the use of composite insulating panels
remains an important factor for companies
wishing to achieve those discounts.
In need of an upgrade?
Properties, plant and equipment in the sector
have in many cases been earmarked for
improvement, with research published in
mid-2015 indicating a 3-5% increase in investment
in construction and automation4
. This focus on
generating higher output at reduced cost is a
theme likely to continue across the sector and
is broadly welcomed by the insurance market.
Flooding also returned to the headlines in late
2015 after two benign years. Businesses with
flood-prone premises may not receive access
to the same affordable insurance homeowners
have access to under the new insurance industry
scheme, Flood Re5
, which when launched
will provide homeowners with better access
to affordable insurance. Those in particularly
threatened locations could expect further
loading of their premiums.
A risk management success story
Electrical fires and arson have also been a
persistent issue throughout 2015 with industry
trade media frequently reporting on blazes
at factories across the UK. However, the
importance of robust business continuity
planning was perfectly illustrated by one
reported incident when David Berryman, a
provider of processed fruit juices, was able to
supply customers just two days after its factory
burned to the ground6
. The company highlighted
its flexible supply chain which ensured that
a collection of contract manufacturers were
able to step in and replicate its production.
Improving the attractiveness of
your risk
• Plan and regularly test your business continuity
procedures and be in a position to present them
to insurers
3
Source: Aon Grip
4
Source: Construction activity in the Food & Drink Manufacturing & Processing Industry Market Report - UK 2015–2019 Analysis
5
Source: Association of British Insurers, The Future of Flood Insurance, what happens next?
6
Source: Food Manufacture 5 October 2015

6. 6 UK food and drink market update 2016
• Avoid business continuity planning with
prescriptive methods alone – ‘plan ownership’
should be shared between management and
site managers who understand the local risks
and emergency procedures
• Be aware of your limits in business interruption.
Does your supply chain have flexibility to bring
production back online within normal policy
term limits (12/24 months)?
• Review/remove composite insulated panels in
areas near hazardous processes
• Regular documented electrical maintenance and
thermographic checks for ‘hot spots’
• Ensure spot protection and speciality
extinguishers near hazardous heat processes
• Invest in risk surveys to obtain comprehensive
underwriting data that will enable
insurers to fully appraise your risk

7. Aon Risk Solutions 7
Your employees and the public
– Room for manoeuvre
Casualty and liability underwriters remain eager to write business from the UK food and
drink sector. The market has generally improved its approach to health and safety and
remains a growing part of the UK economy, creating jobs and driving demand for insurance.
Casualty rates across the UK continued to fall
consistently throughout 2015, with Aon GRIP
data showing public liability rates at renewal
averaging -3.6% in Q3 2014 and -2.3% for the
same quarter in 2015. Each of the five quarters
from the end of 2014 onwards reported falls in
premiums for this class of business. On employers’
liability, the deflation was broadly similar with
EL rates at renewal in Q3 2014 falling 1.3% and
3.1% in Q3 2015.
Food and drink manufacturing businesses
spent 22.3% of their combined premium on
public and employers’ liability programmes
in 2014, making this the second largest part
of their risk transfer budget.
With insurers competing hard for their business,
manufacturers are in a good position to secure
discounts at renewal but they should keep an eye
on key emerging risks around personal injury and
employment practices liability.
Aon’s brokers expect no change in typical
pricing dynamics for buyers in 2016. Those with
particularly well managed risks can achieve
double digit discounts and only those with poor
claims history may find themselves subject to any
premium loading.
Improving the attractiveness of
your risk
Organisations who invest in liability risk surveys
have been able to approach the insurance
market with a much greater degree of certainty
about their programme over recent years.
These surveys are provided by independent
companies who will review an organisation’s
profile and feed that information back to brokers
and insurers. On-site information about exposure
to potential losses from premises, products, and
completed operations can be extremely influential
to the end result of a programme review,
particularly for insurers looking to understand the
supply chain process in industries such as food
manufacturing ascertain the chain of responsibility.
Consider these points of action to
increase insurer appetite
• Conduct noise studies and consider
installing acoustic panels, damping materials,
silencers and other reduction remedies
• Implement rehabilitation and occupational
health programmes
• Claims analysis to identify areas of
attritional loss
• Day one absence management for all
injury types
• Invest in liability risk surveys

8. 8 UK food and drink market update 2016
Your vehicles
– The end of whiplash?
The fleet motor insurance market has been hardening for two to three years before levelling
off in 2015. The withdrawal of significant reinsurance capacity in January 2013 forced up
prices in this attritional risk category, where today many insurers are looking to combine and
package casualty, property and motor in order to blend and smooth out their loss ratios.
According to GRIP data, rates for automobile
for the United Kingdom were flat in Q3 2014
(-0.17%) and hardened slightly in Q3 2015
(+0.93%). Aon’s role has increasingly been to
collaborate with food manufacturers across all
lines of business and those who analyse and react
to the data emerging from their claims experience
can expect flat rates or even reductions into 2016.
The picture for fleets with poorer risk management
is understandably more challenging with an
expected price range of +2.5%-15% at renewal
in 2016.
Autumn statement – good news for
fleet owners
Perhaps the most significant piece of news to
emerge since the civil justice reforms, was in the
Chancellor’s Autumn Statement in November
2015, in which George Osborne announced plans
to increase the small claims limit to £5000 and
to withdraw the right to financial compensation
for soft tissue injuries such as whiplash.
This was a potentially game-changing
announcement illustrated by one of the
UK’s largest claimant law firms, Slater &
Gordon, seeing its share price crash 50%
when markets opened the next day7
.
Essentially, the government is hoping to
create a system which provides claimants with
‘soft tissue injuries’ recourse in the form of
rehabilitation rather than monetary compensation.
If successfully implemented, this should have
the effect of removing the financial incentive for
speculative and also fraudulent whiplash claims.
If the Government’s proposals have the desired
impact, fleets which are often targeted by crash
for cash fraudsters may be less threatened.
The corollary is of course that fleet managers
themselves will have to ensure that vocational
rehabilitation becomes an essential part of their
own return to work programmes for drivers
directly employed who suffer injuries at the wheel.
Road safety improvements
With the UK’s roads frequently congested,
continuing safety improvement should be
of great relief to fleet owners. Those which
regularly drive in London will have the added
complication of sharing the roads with more
than 300,000 cyclists8
and news that a scheme
to segregate them from vehicles with the
construction of new cycle paths as part of a
£913m investment should be warmly received.
Improve the attractiveness of your risk
Aon is able to support customers operating
fleets in the food and drink manufacturing
sector with its Fleet Complete solution which
is designed to provide complete visibility of
their exposures. However, all fleets should at
least observe the following advice to ensure
their profile meets the typical benchmarks.
• Conduct online licence checks for
agency drivers
• Consider telematics, GPS and vehicle
tracking systems
• Reduce time incentivised deliveries
• Be aware of staged accident gangs
targeting liveried vehicles
7
Source: City A.M. 26 November 2015 – Quindell buyer Slater & Gordon share price halves after George Osborne reveals plans to
overhaul personal injury law
8
Source: BBC News 4th
June 2015 – Number of cyclists in London reaches record high

9. Aon Risk Solutions 9
Protecting your cash flow
– Credit where it’s due
Few insurance markets suffered more profoundly during the financial crisis
than credit insurance, but the sector has re-emerged as a competitive force
with a broadly positive approach to the food and drink sector.
Risk managers can expect plenty of capacity
available and a large number of markets willing
to provide quotes with competitive terms.
One element of the financial crash for which
manufacturers can be thankful is the impact it had
on underwriters’ themselves. Historically high
levels of insolvency around 2009–2010 forced the
market to improve its own capability to identify
problems to the extent that now in 2015, they are
alert to the potential changes which can occur
throughout the supply chain.
Buyers with a higher risk profile will always be
monitored very closely and this element of the
market has proven itself a major benefit of trade
credit insurance. The industry now has the most
up to date information available in the market,
with highly sophisticated real-time risk intelligence
at its fingertips; far beyond the information filed
at Companies House. Credit insurers today are
reviewing current management information which
shows up to date trading performance meaning
they will be alerted very early on if there is a
deteriorating margin or a weaker balance sheet.
New entrants in 2015
For many years credit insurance has been
characterised by a trio of market leaders who
remain in a relatively dominant position.
Euler Hermes and Atradius account for
upwards of 55% of the UK credit insurance
market, while Coface also takes up a
considerable volume of available premium.
There has been one significant change in 2015
in that HCC has been acquired by Tokio Marine,
giving HCC a global footprint and a partner with
no overlap in its own product portfolio.
This could create a real opportunity for trade
credit should that insurer choose to promote
this line of business. This could benefit
buyers with the promise of new products
from a well-capitalised competitor.
In addition, HCC may be able to apply
more pressure on the dominant players,
with buyers potentially able to receive
more competitive credit limits.
New risk factors
It is no surprise to say that food and drink
manufacturers are under considerable margin
pressure and this dynamic will be at the front
of mind for credit insurers looking at the
industry as a whole. The twin pillars of food
price deflation and the pending wage inflation
(April 2016’s new living wage of £7.60) mean
that the sector has a considerable challenge to
remain profitable. Meanwhile insolvencies have
remained a problem within the manufacturing
sector itself. One market observer reported
a 54% rise9
in the 12 months to Q2 2015 in
companies experiencing financial distress, with
supermarket pressure blamed for the squeeze.
On the positive side, there have been some signs
that manufacturers have the ball in their court.
The Government’s creation of the Groceries
Code Adjudicator in 2013 may finally be
creating an environment in which relationships
between major supermarkets and their supply
chains can work to their mutual benefit.
Versatile coverage
Matters beyond the UK have also challenged
the sector but can help to emphasise the
value of trade credit for the number of
potential risks that it will insure against.
9
Source: Begbies Traynor’s Red Flag Alert Report Q2 2015

10. 10 UK food and drink market update 2016
Broadly speaking trade credit insurance is
used for non-payment due to insolvency
or protracted default but it also covers
political risks, natural disaster, terrorism
and a range of other unique scenarios.
UK exporters of food and drink saw a -5.3% fall
in the value of exports during the first half of
201510
with insolvencies across the European
Union responsible for a considerable slice of this
fall. However there have also been politically
charged issues facing exporters such as the recent
sanctions regime introduced by Russia banning
exports from the EU and other global regions.
Housekeeping tips
Most companies in the food manufacturing
sector recognise the importance of trade credit
insurance today. It serves a dual purpose of
providing robust risk mitigation and support in
obtaining finance from lenders. Having emerged
from the worst of the financial crash, both buyers
and underwriters acknowledge how crucial
it is that companies maintain an open line of
communication with insurers so that they are
alerted to issues around buyers very quickly.
In addition, there are a number of steps
that companies can take to make their
risk more appealing to insurers;
• Identify gaps in credit risk management
• Build/deploy systems to assess the security
of debts
• Demonstrate improvements in time spent
on debt recovery
• Link up back office accounting and financial
processes with sales to better manage the
deal-to-payment cycle
• Purge high risk customers where possible
10
Food and Drink Federation - Exports Snapshot January–June 2015

11. Aon Risk Solutions 11
Product liability and crisis management
– Avoiding drama
A downward push on pricing has encouraged insurers to innovate, with
crisis management consulting a helpful option for organisations.
Market dynamics shifted again in 2014 toward
increased competition and new entrants at Lloyd’s
at the beginning of 2015, while global insurers
also eyed product recall as a profitable business
line leading to flat and in many cases, a downward
pressure on prices.
Where turnovers are increasing, market appetite
is strong for the best accounts, while decreased
rates of up to 10-20% are being seen on renewals
for the most attractive businesses.
Policy wordings vary widely and clients have to
be aware of the advantages and disadvantages
of moving from one carrier to another,
however terms and conditions have remained
quite stable across Aon’s UK food and drink
portfolio. This has presented an opportunity
for Aon to push for enhancements to market
wordings which have included adding sub limits
for claims preparation expenses utilising Aon’s
complex claims teams and higher sub limits on
rehabilitation expenses.
Crisis consultancy
Cover for malicious tamper and contamination
remains an important part of many companies’
programmes. In addition to providing for the
direct recall and business interruption costs they
also put in place a range of support services to
aid in crisis management when an incident occurs
and can mitigate against the risks of supply chain
vulnerability, which have picked up so many
headlines recently. Crisis consultancy is becoming
a key aspect of the product recall armoury and
with a 5% standard bursary (of net premium)
available for clients to spend with their insurer’s
crisis consultant, clients can take some comfort
by having that expertise available to assist them
in the review of their supply chain management,
business continuity and recall management plans.
The Elliott Review
The Elliott Review into the integrity and assurance
of food supply networks is now just over a year old
and despite its recommendations, there appears
to be little sign that the UK government will invest
in any independent testing facilities.
Managing supply chain is key to avoiding incidents
in the food industry. It is vital to consider where
in a supply chain an organisation needs to
implement checks to assure that its products
haven’t been corrupted; if your supply chain is
transparent, you’ll be much more able to react in
a crisis scenario and any response plans that have
been rehearsed will run that much smoother.
Shareholders will demand assurances that a crisis
is dealt with and the expectation will inevitably be
that production is largely uninterrupted.

12. 12 UK food and drink market update 2016
11
US Department of Homeland Security – ICS-CERT Year in Review 2014 – US-Cert
Cyber liability
– Message getting through?
Despite suggestions to the contrary, the take up of specific cyber liability insurance remains
fairly cool across most industries, with food manufacturing no exception. Underwriters still
have little to go on in terms of claims history and many are more concerned about how their
existing property and casualty contracts may unintentionally pick up claims should a major
cyber-attack occur against, say, the financial services industry.
Aon’s advice to manufacturers is to consider their
own exposures carefully, particularly given the
potential for cyber-attacks against assets such
as Industrial Control Systems (ICS), which are of
course running thousands of production lines
across the UK.
ICS systems at large scale operations like power
stations have been very publicly undermined
by viruses such as Stuxnet and more recently
‘Energetic Bear’ and the Russian malware,
Black Energy. There is relatively little in the public
domain about the threat to UK food and drink
industries’ integrity, although in 2014 2.1% of
attempts at web facing ICS/SCADA (supervisory
control and data acquisition systems) were in the
Food and Agriculture sector11
.
Potential scenarios from a continuity, third party
and 1st
party property perspective exist if an ICS
is ‘taken over’ in a cyber-attack. The systems that
control manufacturing are typically older, less
secure and could have been purchased through
long term service contracts with software vendors
so they may not be patched or updated very
often. Adding to their vulnerability is the fact that
they are more and more connected as we seek to
monitor and control their operations or review
performance for management intelligence.
Food and drink companies are also being
advised about the potential intellectual property
exposures created by cyber threats to ICS systems.
A manufacturer’s recipe is very often their
most valuable asset and with the controlling of
ingredients in manufacturing typically managed
by ICS systems there is also a chance that formulae
may be targeted by counterfeiters.

13. Aon Risk Solutions 13
12
Source: Health and safety in manufacturing in Great Britain, 2014/15
13
Source: HSE – Sound solutions for the food and drink industries – reducing noise in food and drink manufacturing
14
Source: Aviva PLC – Call for clampdown on spurious industrial disease claims
15
Source: Claims Portal Executive Dashboard
The outlook for claims
– Slow pace of reform
Workplace injury claim statistics published by the Health and Safety Executive show
that food and drink continues to be a significant contributor to the overall picture on
accidents and illnesses at work. Between 2011 and 2015, 17% of the 80,000 self-reported
cases of work related ill health were from employees in food and drink manufacturing12
.
However, the industry’s safety record should be applauded given the fact that its
illness numbers are not statistically significantly different to any others in the UK.
Insurers have expressed great concern over the
prevalence of particular injury claims such as noise
induced hearing loss (NIHL), which the HSE has
published some recent updated guidance13
on
to help employers protect its staff. From a safety
perspective, Aon is advising all of its customers to
observe their own noise levels on site to ensure
they deliver the correct protection when legally
required to do so. Conversely, insurers are keen to
remind employers that NIHL claims are frequently
investigated and found to be spurious, with Aviva
in particular reporting that as many 85% have no
basis in fact14
.
The influence of civil justice reform
The legal landscape has shifted considerably in
recent years. First the Legal Aid, Sentencing and
Punishment of Offenders Act became law in 2013,
followed shortly afterward by the Enterprise
and Regulatory Reform Act 2013; both of which
promised to support employers by reducing the
costs of litigation and increasing the burden of
proof on claimants.
The introduction of fixed legal fees for employers’
liability claims valued up to £25,000 has yet
to influence claims volumes. Indeed, the
opposite seems to be true in relation to claims
notified via the Claims Portal. In the year to
July 31 2014 there were just over 33,000 Claims
Notification Forms issued, a figure which rose to
54,634 in the year to July 31 201515
.
Improving your claims defensibility
It remains to be seen what impact these twin
reforms could have on the cost of claims for
employers, but companies that engage Aon will
be able to put their best foot forward. There are
a number of trends which risk managers should
be aware of;
• Claimant lawyers seeking easy wins and hoping
to benefit from defendants with a less than ideal
accident reporting and investigation processes
• Be aware that ‘Special Damage’ claims are
being made to boost the level of damages
recovered by the claimant. Early intervention
into accidents to identify what has happened
and how serious an injured party actually is,
is essential
• Claims for rehabilitation and psychiatric referrals
are increasing, not always with justification.
Good claims defensibility requires consideration
of rehabilitation by the employer and potential
defendant early on, as opposed to waiting for a
claimant lawyer to do it at their cost
• While costs are decreasing in the new world
(post MOJ/LASPO), costs on old world claims
are increasing as firms look to maximise
their recovery

14. 14 UK food and drink market update 2016
• The move away from the recoverability of
success fees and ATE premiums from defendants
has seen claimant solicitors seeking higher
damages to try to help their clients mitigate
the impact of their success fees which are now
being paid out of the claimant’s damages
• There has been an increase in requests for
pre-med offers to the insurance industry.
Caution when considering pre-med offers as
there is a propensity for the claim to be bogus
or inflated due to the speed of settlement
• Keep production area floors free from
contamination at all times
• Use appropriate footwear at all times
• Ensure a clearly identified, documented and
enforced cleaning regime is in place
• To assist with claims defensibility some
clients are embracing tablet and smartphone
technology to capture incident details quickly
and efficiently
• For multi-site businesses it is useful to identify
the sites with the highest number of claims per
100,000 hours worked to allow focus on an in
depth claims and accident analysis accompanied
by a site visit and management system review

16. About Aon
Aon plc (NYSE:AON) is a leading global provider of risk
management, insurance brokerage and reinsurance
brokerage, and human resources solutions and
outsourcing services. Through its more than 72,000
colleagues worldwide, Aon unites to empower results
for clients in over 120 countries via innovative risk and
people solutions. For further information on our
capabilities and to learn how we empower results for
clients, please visit: http://aon.mediaroom.com/
Aon specialises in providing risk management and
insurance solutions to the food and drink sector.
Our experts will work with your business to assess
your total cost of risk and develop solutions that fit
your distinct industry needs.
© Aon plc 2016. All rights reserved.
The information contained herein and the statements expressed are of
a general nature and are not intended to address the circumstances of
any particular individual or entity. Although we endeavor to provide
accurate and timely information and use sources we consider reliable,
there can be no guarantee that such information is accurate as of the
date it is received or that it will continue to be accurate in the future.
No one should act on such information without appropriate professional
advice after a thorough examination of the particular situation.
Aon UK Limited is authorised and regulated by the Financial Conduct
Authority. Aon UK Limited Registered Office: The Aon Centre,
The Leadenhall Building, 122 Leadenhall Street, London, EC3V 4AN.
Registered No. 210725. VAT Registration No. 480 8401 48. Some links on
this website may redirect you to third party sites. Aon is not responsible
for this content. Telephone calls are recorded and may be monitored.
FPNAT.184
Risk. Reinsurance. Human Resources.
For more information
Nicola Collins| Senior Marketing Executive
Aon Risk Solutions | National
e nicola.collins@aon.co.uk