Madeleine McCann case: Resort firm Mark Warner sues insurers for losses
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Madeleine McCann case: Resort firm Mark Warner sues insurers for losses
I have just discovered this.
Did we know?
Was there a result.?
http://www.theguardian.com/uk/2009/apr/04/madeleine-mcann-disappearance-holiday-resort
Did we know?
Was there a result.?
http://www.theguardian.com/uk/2009/apr/04/madeleine-mcann-disappearance-holiday-resort
Madeleine McCann case: Resort firm Mark Warner sues insurers for losses
• Company blames publicity for parents staying away
• Claim centres on losses for 'interrupted business'
David Hencke and Rob Evans
The Guardian, Saturday 4 April 2009
The Ocean Club in Praia Da Luz, Portugal, where Kate and Gerry McCann were dining when their daughter Madeleine went missing. Photograph: Linda Nylind
The holiday company at the centre of the Madeleine McCann disappearance has launched a legal action against its insurers to recover lost earnings.
Mark Warner says holidaymakers stayed away from its Praia da Luz resort in Portugal because of the huge media coverage of the disappearance of Madeleine, then aged three, almost two years ago.
The firm filed the writ in the high court seeking compensation from AIG, the big US insurance company, which has had to be bailed out by the US government.
Although the writ has yet to be made public, the Guardian understands that the claim will centre around losses from "interrupted business", normally used to cover businesses that can no longer trade because of flooding or loss of power supplies. AIG is expected to contest the claim.
As soon as Madeleine went missing, Mark Warner sought to reassure parents by insisting the incident was a "one-off".
David Hopkins, the managing director, said at the time: "Our security is terribly robust." However, the company spokesman acknowledged that some parents would opt to stay away as the investigation continued.
While some critics focused on security, others questioned why parents Gerry and Kate McCann had chosen to leave their three children in an apartment at the resort while they had dinner nearby, checking them every 30 minutes.
The Mark Warner spokesman said yesterday: "It is a matter of public record that Mark Warner's bookings to Portugal were affected by events nearly two years ago, but the resort remains very popular and we are looking forward to resuming our summer operations there this May."
It is unclear how far the company's profits were hit by the affair. Its latest accounts show that it made a loss of £2.8m in the year up to October 2007, on a turnover of £46m. It blamed the loss in part to Madeleine's disappearance, saying: "The results for the year reflect the difficult trading conditions experienced by certain parts of the tour operating industry."
Last year, Hopkins told Travel Trade Gazette that the number of parents choosing to go to its resort in Portugal declined immediately after Madeleine's disappearance, but business was "very buoyant" later in the summer of 2007.
Mark Warner built its firm on its claim of being one of the most child-friendly holiday companies. It is popular with middle-class parents who can relax while their children are looked after. The firm, founded in 1974, says on its website: "For over 30 years we have led the way in childcare and have kids' clubs for all ages with free evening creche service."
The writ was filed in February against two AIG companies, New Hampshire and Landmark Insurance, in the admiralty and commercial division of the high court. Court officials said the writ could not be released because it had yet to be formally served on AIG.
Mark Warner said : "It is not our policy to discuss any aspect of our relationship with third party suppliers, so we are unable to comment on your query."
An AIG spokesman said: "I'm afraid it is our policy not to comment publicly on individual claims as we respect our clients' rights to confidentiality in these matters. Consequently I can add nothing to the information you have already received from the courts."
Re: Madeleine McCann case: Resort firm Mark Warner sues insurers for losses
AIG again, how convenient. They should have sought reimbursement directly from the McCanns for criminal negligence impacting on their client's business.
I've long wondered, do the omnipresent tentacles of Royal Bank of Scotland feature anywhere in this sorry episode?
I've long wondered, do the omnipresent tentacles of Royal Bank of Scotland feature anywhere in this sorry episode?
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Re: Madeleine McCann case: Resort firm Mark Warner sues insurers for losses
Clay Regazzoni wrote:AIG again, how convenient. They should have sought reimbursement directly from the McCanns for criminal negligence impacting on their client's business.
I've long wondered, do the omnipresent tentacles of Royal Bank of Scotland feature anywhere in this sorry episode?
Tell me more! The RSB bought my bank for a price which the super honest director of ABN told them before the sale was way too high.
Why is anything with a hint of Scottish in it thought to be reliable? There's a very good reason why they're not independent, they don'tlike each other one bit.
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Re: Madeleine McCann case: Resort firm Mark Warner sues insurers for losses
It sounds as though there was a dispute between the insured and the insurer. The insurer was possibly denying that the claim was valid under the terms of the policy and the insured had to go to court for a declaration from a judge that they were indeed covered (or not as the case may have been).
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Re: Madeleine McCann case: Resort firm Mark Warner sues insurers for losses
tigger wrote:Clay Regazzoni wrote:AIG again, how convenient. They should have sought reimbursement directly from the McCanns for criminal negligence impacting on their client's business.
I've long wondered, do the omnipresent tentacles of Royal Bank of Scotland feature anywhere in this sorry episode?
Tell me more! The RSB bought my bank for a price which the super honest director of ABN told them before the sale was way too high.
Why is anything with a hint of Scottish in it thought to be reliable? There's a very good reason why they're not independent, they don'tlike each other one bit.
Basically if you go back to around the time of the credit crunch, virtually everything ill advised, dodgy, or downright corrupt in UK finance will have RBS involved somewhere, often right at the heart. With all of those involved making out like piggies with snouts in the trough yet still managing to come up largely smelling of roses and with their reputations intact - Fred "the shred" Goodwin being a rare and notable exception - he lost his knighthood, but not his pension. I'd be AMAZED if they're not involved with all matters McCann in same way, shape or form.
I do know that the Mcs had their mortgage with Northern Rock, the other great turkey of UK banking at that time.
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Re: Madeleine McCann case: Resort firm Mark Warner sues insurers for losses
Ridiculous really. The resort didn't have to put the family up for free after the disappearance,and their relations too,not to mention another apartment given for use as an office.
They prolonged having the media outside imo.
They prolonged having the media outside imo.
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Re: Madeleine McCann case: Resort firm Mark Warner sues insurers for losses
Guessing it wouldn't have looked to good if they had kicked them out.Bellisa wrote:Ridiculous really. The resort didn't have to put the family up for free after the disappearance,and their relations too,not to mention another apartment given for use as an office.
They prolonged having the media outside imo.
Can imagine the whole area lost a fair bit of money for a while.
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Re: Madeleine McCann case: Resort firm Mark Warner sues insurers for losses
Amaral has to send his invoyces to the McCanns as soon as possible otherwise he will not be payed.
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Re: Madeleine McCann case: Resort firm Mark Warner sues insurers for losses
Fred "the shred" Goodwin being a rare and notable exception - he lost his knighthood, but not his pension. I'd be AMAZED if they're not involved with all matters McCann in same way, shape or form.
Either way, he was going to make more money, possibly through his, very lucrative, pension plan or, maybe, his, supposed, knighthood. He seem's to be totally focussed upon the money that he can accumulate, and the power that, he believes, it may give him..
Money does serve a purpose. That purpose, was definitely not designed, so that the exploiter's of the money, like fred the shred , could have any real authority, upon anyone.
I really do not believe that most people, truly, understand money.
I, definitely, do not believe that the continual exploiters' of money, have any real understanding of it, and the harm that they are doing to themselves..
Either way, he was going to make more money, possibly through his, very lucrative, pension plan or, maybe, his, supposed, knighthood. He seem's to be totally focussed upon the money that he can accumulate, and the power that, he believes, it may give him..
Money does serve a purpose. That purpose, was definitely not designed, so that the exploiter's of the money, like fred the shred , could have any real authority, upon anyone.
I really do not believe that most people, truly, understand money.
I, definitely, do not believe that the continual exploiters' of money, have any real understanding of it, and the harm that they are doing to themselves..
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Re: Madeleine McCann case: Resort firm Mark Warner sues insurers for losses
notlongnow yeah i agree it would have looked bad in the early days but they went above and beyond what a business should do. they were about to enter the busiest time of year id imagine and could have easily advised that they didn't have the space available for them and their entourage.
Given that much of the algarve relies solely on tourism I agree,a lot of people must have been directly affected through job losses given the coverage in the media.
Given that much of the algarve relies solely on tourism I agree,a lot of people must have been directly affected through job losses given the coverage in the media.
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Re: Madeleine McCann case: Resort firm Mark Warner sues insurers for losses
Does anybody know how MW financed the purchase of the Ocean Club? I'm sure I've seen that here somewhere.
One setback that Fred Goodwin did suffer was an attack of vigilantism that forced him to leave his home in The Grange, a desirable area of Edinburgh. Wikipedia has a "comprehensive" list of famous residents, consisting entirely of Fred Goodwin and J. K. Rowling.
One setback that Fred Goodwin did suffer was an attack of vigilantism that forced him to leave his home in The Grange, a desirable area of Edinburgh. Wikipedia has a "comprehensive" list of famous residents, consisting entirely of Fred Goodwin and J. K. Rowling.
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Re: Madeleine McCann case: Resort firm Mark Warner sues insurers for losses
I very much doubt they "Own" it, except in the sense of a very long lease.Clay Regazzoni wrote:Does anybody know how MW financed the purchase of the Ocean Club? I'm sure I've seen that here somewhere.
I believe pretty well the whole of PdL is "owned" by the extended Symington family, through trusts and holding companies so on as Dynastic families do these things, though i may be wrong, of course.
http://www.symington.com/
Re: Madeleine McCann case: Resort firm Mark Warner sues insurers for losses
roy rovers wrote:It sounds as though there was a dispute between the insured and the insurer. The insurer was possibly denying that the claim was valid under the terms of the policy and the insured had to go to court for a declaration from a judge that they were indeed covered (or not as the case may have been).
That is it in a nutshell. It all comes down to the policy wording, what is covered and any exclusions. The MW and insurers couldn't reach agreement so it ended up at court.
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Re: Madeleine McCann case: Resort firm Mark Warner sues insurers for losses
chrissie wrote:
That is it in a nutshell. It all comes down to the policy wording, what is covered and any exclusions. The MW and insurers couldn't reach agreement so it ended up at court.
You mean the legal beagles who drew up the insurance policy failed to factor in the entirely predicable scenario that a couple of complete numpties would do everything in their power to get their daughter "abducted" from MW property? What is the world coming to?
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Re: Madeleine McCann case: Resort firm Mark Warner sues insurers for losses
Clay Regazzoni wrote:chrissie wrote:
That is it in a nutshell. It all comes down to the policy wording, what is covered and any exclusions. The MW and insurers couldn't reach agreement so it ended up at court.
You mean the legal beagles who drew up the insurance policy failed to factor in the entirely predicable scenario that a couple of complete numpties would do everything in their power to get their daughter "abducted" from MW property? What is the world coming to?
Joking aside though (and I don't know if it is different in PT) but there would have been negotiations between MW and insurers from the off. Generally MW would have hired a loss assessor to up any possible claim and insurers a loss adjustor to minimise a claim. Both would have looked at the policy wording to fight their case. Commercial insurance is very different to personal insurance and the business relationships are much better.
Anyway, don't start me off on insurance as it is what I do for a living but feel free to ask any questions if you want
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