Claims Advocacy

Skowronnek & Bechnak provide Claims Advocacy services for insurance claims that are complex due to their volume, number of parties involved or difficult contractual interpretation. The areas of expertise include physical loss or damage, including delay in start-up and business interruption, distinction between the damage and defect and interpretation of wordings, including LEG clauses under German and English law. We have individually and jointly negotiated for our Clients indemnification worth tens of millions. 

Ralf Skowronnek comes from the technical and engineering background and has a long history of claims successfully settled in particular due to his technical insight and insurance industry expertise. Before becoming a claims manager on the broker´s side, Ralf used to work as a loss adjustor both independently and on insurer´s side. His technical knowledge enables him to correctly understand and assess the root cause that gave rise to a loss, including manufacturing, chemical or physical forces influencing materials, such as drying out or hardening, elasticity, adhesion or cohesion or water accumulation and subsequent cracking of the surface, to mention but a few. Such technical understanding is vital for a correct assumption of what root cause lies behind the loss and how to present it to insurers in order to achieve due settlement under the insurance policy. Ralf also led for a number of years the renewable energy department of the world´s biggest insurance broker and was involved in drafting the policies which is of great assistance when it comes to their interpretation and risks that were intended to be covered under the insurance policy wording. 

Barbora Bechnak has a legal background and obtained her LL.M degree from the University of London with specialization in insurance and marine insurance law. Her main focus are therefore claims which are settled upon the principles of common law and English & Wales jurisdiction. Her first experience with claims came during her stay in London where she worked for Marsh London FINPRO Claims Department. During this time, Barbora learned how to extract the essence from statements of parties at times radically different and yet constituting two sides of the same claim. She has also learnt which words to use and which to avoid to increase the chances of the Client´s claim settlement and avoid unnecessarily long disputes. Having worked in the energy sector for the past decade, the present main focus are offshore wind claims, in particular review of insurance policies and underlying contracts and interpretation of parties´ obligations. Joint approach between the technical expertise and correct contractual interpretation is the essence of a successful claim settlement process. 

Due Diligence

Skowronnek & Bechnak have 10 GW internationally recognized expertise in performing Insurance Due Diligence for Renewable Energy and Infrastructure projects. The due diligence that we perform is based on our review of insurance policies taken out for construction and operational phases and their compliance with project contracts, such as Turbine Supply Agreement (TSA), Operations/ Service and Maintenance Agreement (OMA/SMA), Balance of Plant Contract (BoP) and Power Purchase Agreement (PPA) on the project side and Shareholder Agreement (SHA) and Share Purchase Agreement (SPA) on the investor´s side. We provide insurance due diligence services for both Vendors and Investors on three different levels: brief, standard and detailed due diligence. They differ in the level of information reviewed and the scope of provisions and parameters considered and the volume of the report corresponds to the scope of detail. 

The process starts with reviewing the relevant documents and issuing a “red flag” preliminary report with first findings. Depending on the stage of contractual negotiations, we propose amendments and summarize those in subsequent versions of the preliminary report which also contains further passages on additional documents reviewed and recommendations arising out of our review. The outcome of the insurance due diligence process is a report which provides an overview of the documents and insurance policies reviewed, including benchmark against projects of comparable parameters and size and insurance premium projections. Every final report contains our recommendations and conclusions. 

We have successfully advised Clients in a number of acquisitions and re-refinancing transactions and the reports that we have drafted were praised for their clarity of facts presented and potential pitfalls that we have uncovered and helped avoid. We have performed due diligences for Clients or assets located in Germany, UK, Denmark, Sweden, Norway, France, Spain, Poland, Slovakia, Taiwan and Japan. Our present focus is on Western Europe and Japan, where we have collaboration partners to ensure having relevant background with respect to regulatory and liability regimes. 

Lenders Insurance Advisory

Skowronnek & Bechnak have 6.5 GW internationally recognized expertise in performing Lenders´ Insurance Advisory for Renewable Energy and Infrastructure projects. The LIA due diligence that we perform is based on our review of insurance policies taken out for construction and operational phases and their compliance with project contracts, such as Turbine Supply Agreement (TSA), Operations/ Service and Maintenance Agreement (OMA/SMA), Balance of Plant Contract (BoP) and Power Purchase Agreement (PPA) on the project side and Facility Agreement (CTFA) on the Lenders´ side. 

The process starts with reviewing the relevant documents and issuing a “red flag” preliminary report with first findings. Depending on the stage of contractual negotiations, we propose amendments and summarize those in subsequent versions of the preliminary report which also contains further passages on additional documents reviewed and recommendations arising out of our review. The outcome of the insurance due diligence process is a report which provides an overview of the documents and insurance policies reviewed, including benchmarking against projects of comparable parameters and size and insurance premium projections. Every final report contains our recommendations and conclusions. 

Particular attention is given to compliance with Lenders´ requirements with respect to clauses, to avoid any potential breach of contract which would affect Lenders, and the necessary scope and level of insurance coverage which should correspond to the highest international standard. The expertise that we posses comes from more than a decade of personal engagement with due diligences and familiarity with aspects of the technology chosen and regulatory framework of the countries where we perform our services. We are well-versed in reading and evaluating technical reports, financial projections and contracts as well as supportive legal opinions and during the LIA process cooperate closely with the LLA, LTA and LFA. 

We have successfully advised Clients in a number of acquisitions and re-refinancing transactions and the reports that we have drafted were praised for their clarity of facts presented and potential pitfalls that we have uncovered and helped avoid. We have performed LIA due diligences for Clients or assets located in Germany, UK, Denmark, Taiwan and Japan. Our present focus is on Western Europe and Japan, where we have collaboration partners to ensure having relevant background with respect to regulatory and liability regimes.