Insurance Brokers help flood-hit Hotel re-open
Henderson Insurance Brokers Teesside has helped steer a flood-hit award-wining four star hotel back into business.
The Trout Hotel in Cockermouth, which found itself up to eight feet under water due to the deluge which affected Cumbria, has reopened in time for the summer season.
Its renaissance follows a £5m insurance claim to pay for repairs to the premises and also to cover loss of profits during the closure period following the extensive flood damage, which devastated the ground floor.
Thanks to the support of Henderson Insurance Brokers, the business has been smoothly guided through submitting a claim and helped with its contingency plans which saw the hotel's office temporarily move to a local business park, to allow it to continue to administer the business and take advance bookings for when the hotel re-opened.
Peter Wilkinson, Henderson Insurance Brokers Group Claims Director, said: "this is a prime example of why it is vital that businesses are properly insured.
"People may associate floods with certain times of year, but freak weather, which can have a devastating impact on businesses, can occur at any time.
"While the Cumbrian floods struck in November, the ferocious storm that caused flooding in Boscastle in Cornwall happened at the height of the summer."
Hotel Managing Director Sue Eccles said: "it has obviously been a stressful time for the business, but this was lessened by the speed of action and the professionalism and support of Henderson Insurance Brokers.
"Henderson Insurance Brokers Teesside's expertise and knowledge have proved invaluable.
"They assessed the business and arranged cover that exactly matched the hotel's requirements. In the wake of the flooding, they have overseen the claim in an effective and efficient manner, which has enabled us to restore the hotel to its former glory."
Dating back to 1670, the hotel was originally a private residence belonging to the local Egremont Estate and was extended over the years before becoming a hotel in 1934.
Comprising 49 bedrooms and an award winning restaurant and a bistro and bar, it has been privately owned by the Mills family in partnership with two other investors for the past 21 years.