Gallagher has been ACAPMA’s insurance partner for more than 40 years. As a specialist broker for the fuel industry and convenience stores sector, Gallagher handles a large number of claims which can serve as reminder to other businesses in the industry of the risks they face on a daily basis.

Gallagher’s latest incident report features some major claims events and trends that are relevant to businesses of all sizes right across the sector.

Incident report March-April 2019

  1. Gallagher is assisting the National Bulk Tanker Association, the New South Wales Environmental Protection Authority and the fire authority with an investigation into five recent tanker truck fires, four or which involved Gallagher claims.

  2. Recently a serious loss has resulted from a tanker incident in western Victoria, involving a rollover, major product loss and driver injury. Tanker incidents continue to be an industry concern.
  • A potentially damaging delivery error occurred when some 5000 litres of diesel were unloaded in error into an underground fuel tank, causing substantial financial loss. Fortunately in this instance the contaminative product did not get dispensed into any customer vehicles. These errors continue to be the bane of the industry.
  • In a bizarre incident in Sydney, a male pedestrian entered a service station forecourt and dispensed fuel from one of the pumps, then ignited it in an apparent attempt to set fire to the premises.
  • Gallagher is heavily involved with many client claims arising from the Townsville floods, with normal issues relating to appropriate cover.
  • There has been an uptake in the number of service stations installing fog machines as a defence against ram raids and burglaries. These machines are triggered by disruption to the security systems, filling the premises with vapour so the interlopers can’t see. It’s early days yet but their use seems to be an effective deterrent to break-ins.

Emerging trends ‒ market research 

Gallagher is currently involved in two research projects over the next 12 months, as detailed below.

Aviation refuelling

We are currently producing an overview of all aspects of the aviation refuelling sector. The issue for our clients is that aviation fuel delivery activities require specific insurance cover, and we are finding gaps and problems in their contracts. Another issue is that our clients could sub-contract deliveries to third parties without being aware of the special insurance required.

Gallagher is one of the few companies with policies that allow insured’s trucks on airfields and provide environmental cover for spills which could result in airport closure.

Emergency response

We are also conducting a full investigation into all aspects of the industry’s emergency response capabilities. Gallagher is looking into all the entities involved, since multiple organisations control different aspects of emergency response, as well as training and capabilities. Gallagher is seeking to establish common ground among the stakeholders and to find solutions.

If you need advice on risk management and insurance for your business, contact Gallagher on 1800 572 145 or visit info.ajg.com.au/acapma to request more information on their range of insurance solutions for the sector.

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