Acclaim, one of the largest independent insurance brokers in Singapore and the 1^st Corporate Risk and insurance consulting firm to be a winner of the prestigious Enterprise 50 Awards, has made senior appointments to beef up their Financial Risk Solutions team to better serve their clients in the midst of an unprecedented hard insurance market and rapidly evolving risks landscape in the current pandemic.

Appointed as Senior Director of Acclaim’s Financial Risk Solutions Team is Ms. K. Sarogenei.  Saro is a well-respected Financial Lines specialist for more than 3 decades. Armed with an LLB and a Masters in Law, she was admitted to the Singapore Bar and practised as a lawyer for 8 years before joining the insurance industry holding senior positions in an international broking company including the role as Regional Profin Head and finally as the company’s Chief Executive Officer.

In addition, Mr Freddie Tan, who joined Acclaim in early 2021 to head their newly created Practice focusing in product development and technical advisory has been appointed recently as Divisional Director of Acclaim’s Financial Risk Solutions Team. Freddie is legally trained and also holds an LLB and Masters in Law. He has more than 10 years’ experience with international insurance companies and also holds a degree in Chemical Engineering. 

Mr Tony Lim, CEO/Managing Director commented, “The appointment of Saro and Freddie will further enhance Acclaim’s position as a premium Financial Lines insurance broker. It will deepen our expertise in Merger & Acquisitions solutions as well as new and emerging risks that concern our clients”.

We are pleased to announce that Acclaim Insurance Brokers Pte Ltd is a winner in 2021 Enterprise 50 (E50) Awards. 

The award ceremony took place on 17th Dec 2021 at the Ritz Carlton Hotel, Singapore. The ceremony was attended by the Minister of Manpower and 2nd Minister for Trade and Industry, Dr Tan See Leng, who was the Guest-of-Honour.

Acclaim is the 1st Corporate Risk and Insurance Consulting Firm to be a winner since the inauguration of Enterprise 50 (E50) Awards. The E50 Awards, established in 1995, seek to recognise the 50 most enterprising local, privately-held companies who have contributed to the economic development of Singapore, both locally and abroad. It is jointly organised by The Business Times and KPMG in Singapore, supported by Enterprise Singapore, the Singapore Business Federation and the Singapore Exchange, and sponsored by OCBC Bank.

“This is the 1st time that we have submitted to E50 and the win is very much the effort of all team members in Acclaim as well as support from clients and business partners, comprising of Insurers, reinsurers & global network partners, through the years,” noted Founder and Executive Chairman, Mr. Anthony Lim, with appreciation and thank you to all concerned.

In total, there are more than 280,000 enterprises in Singapore of which 99% are SMEs. These enterprises employ over 70% of the total working force. We are honoured that Acclaim is ranked amongst the winners in the E50.

Having received this award in this challenging time, CEO/Managing Director, Mr Tony Lim commented, “This award validates the progress we have made over the last 38 years, our continuous effort to offer innovative solutions and quality services to our clients – a testament of our constant pursuit for excellence and creation of unique value proposition through our growing pool of talents.”

We look forward to forging together a closer relationship and collaboration with all our stakeholders in the future. 

For more information:-
Contact: Jennifer Chiow, Director, Corporate Services & Finance
Phone: 9749 1545
Email: jennifer.chiow@acclaim.com.sg

About Enterprise 50 (E50) Awards

Enterprise 50 Awards was launched in 1995 to identify, support, recognize and reward the most enterprising local, privately-held companies across all sectors who have contributed to the economic development of Singapore, both locally abroad. Through the years, the E50 Awards has always been a sought-after stamp of excellence, regarded as a definitive list of the 50 most enterprising, privately-held companies in Singapore.

Every year, applicants for the E50 Awards are evaluated and ranked using both quantitative and qualitative criteria. Quantitative factors include financial performance indicators such as operating profit before tax, turnover and profit growth. Qualitative criteria include management and marketing strategies such as the applicants’ business model, management ideals and innovation, internationalisation, knowledge initiatives, market branding and presence, risk management and sustainability.

It is jointly organised by The Business Times and KPMG in Singapore, supported by Enterprise Singapore, the Singapore Business Federation and the Singapore Exchange, and sponsored by OCBC Bank. It presents a prestigious platform which enterprises can leverage on to achieve greater success – winning here has helped open doors for new businesses, and provide an excellent springboard towards an IPO listing.

About SMEs in Singapore

SMEs are defined as enterprises with operating receipts not more than $100mil or employment not more than 200 employees.

One of our clients, a major contractor, secured a job to build a new data centre for a large publicly listed company in Singapore. On completion and prior to handover, a major fire occurred during the testing & commissioning period. Our team took immediate action to ensure that the insurer’s appointed Loss Adjusters were able to expedite approval for the replacement and repairs of the damaged items.

The claims involved damage to the Building, the Works and third party liability. While our client started to refurbish the building and equipment, we arranged for the insurer to offer interim payments. As a result, 80% of the total claim, amounting to over S$6 million, was paid out over a period of 6 months.

Due to our prompt attention and high levels of service, our client was fully funded to replace all the damaged works. The entire claim was fully settled to a value of more than S$8.5 million.

A major golf club engaged a world class golfer to appear in the club’s prestigious annual tournament for 2 years.  Not only was the appearance fee astronomical, but the golfer had included a special clause in the contract that allowed him to double his fee if he won a major golf tournament prior to his contractual engagement.

The golf club engaged us, and requested our assistance in seeking coverage against this special clause. Not only was this an unusual request, our client had also set a deadline of ten days.

Our team worked around the clock to reach out to our global network partners and found coverage in overseas markets. This new coverage was effected on a public holiday – special arrangements had to be made to ensure that the premium was remitted to the insurer before the tournament started.

Our client’s tournament went ahead with the star player on the leader’s table, fully insured against any future risks to their annual event.

One of our clients, a publicly listed company that owns and manages several five-star hotels in Singapore and China, requested that we review their insurance program to include coverage against terrorism. We were able to offer coverage that far exceeded their existing coverage in savings of more than 18%. When it was time for the next renewal, we reorganized the insurance program and managed to reduce the second-year premium by a staggering 35%.

In addition to cost savings of more than half the original premium, our client received wider insurance coverage through the services of our global network partners.

While on a work trip in Vietnam, one of our clients’ employees suddenly fell seriously ill. The medical facilities in that country could not diagnose the problem and the employee’s life was at risk. With a life and death emergency developing, our client had little choice but to call us just before midnight.

Our team leapt into action immediately, coordinating with the client’s insurer and a medical evacuation service provider, and finalising all the paperwork in the early hours of the morning. Before the start of the next working day, the employee was in the air on his way back to Singapore and emergency medical help.

The entire claim was settled without our client needing to provide any additional funds, as the insurance company we involved had funded the medical evacuation directly. As for the employee who was taken ill – our client has let us know that our quick actions ensured that the he is now back to full health.

In July 2012, a fire broke out in the basement of one of our client’s hotel.

At this time, extensive renovation works were being carried out at the epicentre of the fire. Our client had arranged an Industrial All Risk Policy through Acclaim, covering for material damage and business interruption losses. Our claims team swung into action immediately. Aside from holding the building contractor responsible and liable for the damage, we liaised with relevant parties such as insurers, forensic experts and quantity surveyors throughout the arduous five-year settlement process.

With our intervention, we managed to obtain an interim payment of S$1 million even as quantifying of the loss continued. While the material damage claim needed further negotiation from the insurer’s initial offer, the loss of revenue claim was even more contentious. Working closely with our client, we successfully renegotiated with both the insurer and their appointed expert specialists, on technical grounds, to revise their original offer. The material damage and loss of revenue claims were increased substantially from S$4.7 million to S$6.44 million. We felt this outcome was both equitable, and well-deserved by our client.

In 2015, a waste management plant in the Middle East suffered significant fire damage. The cause was due to the spontaneous combustion of a compost heap. This is a commonly documented occurrence for compost stored in an open yard.

The client’s insurance policy did not exclude such losses, but they had to demonstrate to the insurer that they had suffered financial losses beyond the extinguishment costs, and that they owned the damaged compost, thereby sustaining a loss of stock. The client’s previous insurance broker closed the case on the matter after determining that there was no financial loss. As the newly appointed broker, the Acclaim team took over and worked to understand the cause of the loss including a site visit by our Claims Director to clear any doubts and assist the client to produce the necessary documents to support their claim for the damaged compost. 

The loss adjuster’s report contained open-ended questions – these led to an extended negotiation process with all eight insurers and re-insurers, Despite this, the Acclaim team ultimately secured a collective settlement of US$500,000 for our clients.  

In an early morning in January 2015, one of our clients’ cargo vessel collided with another bulk vessel in an area that was heavily congested with many vessels entering and departing off Singapore. The collision was so extensive that the damage would necessitated the remaining cargo to be discharged. The loss quantum was estimated at US2.5 million dollars excluding other claims expenses approximately US2 million dollars. 

In addition, client also suffered uninsured losses estimated to US1.5 million dollars for charterer’s liability. To make matter worse, the commodity price has fallen and client’s buyer refused to honour their contractual obligations. Acclaim Claim Team worked round the clock – convincing the client to provide approval of a substitute vessel, working diligently with our appointed insurer’s Recovery Agent (RA) to ensure the claim was submitted to the Protection and Indemnity Club (P&I Club) within 24 hours. This task was complicated further as we had to gain a panel of insurers’ approval before the relevant claims document could be lodged. With time not in the client’s favour, this tested Acclaim’s relationship with the all the stakeholders especially the RA. We persuaded the RA to put up the guarantee on behalf of the panel in their name.  By the next 24 hours, the team was able to secure the ‘hard to get’ letter of security amounting to US5.4 million dollars from the P&I Club.  In seven months, the team successfully negotiated (on the client’s behalf) and settled the claim.

The full payment of approximately US 2.15 million dollars was fully credited to the client’s account in July 2015. Our Service Team is delighted knowing we have achieved the fullest satisfaction of our client.