Global Excellence 2019

Acquisition International - Global Excellence 2019 103 Mar19263 14 Acquisition International - Issue 3 2019 Patterson & Associates are Marine Cargo Surveyors and Loss Adjustors, engaged in a diverse range of areas including the investigation of Marine and overland transit claims, contractual liability claims, import and export risk assessment, storage and port risk assessments. Following their success in AI’s Global Excellence Awards 2019, we profiled the company and caught up with Founder, Mike Patterson who provided us with a detailed insight into the award-winning firm. stablished in 1989, Patterson & Associates has offices in Durban, Cape Town and Johannesburg (SA) and also in Zimbabwe and Zambia. Providing services to both the local and international marine insurance industry, importers and exporters, Patterson & Associates’ clients include cargo underwriters globally, local and international maritime law firms, importers/exporters, Port authorities and logistics agents. The team at Patterson & Associates do not sub-contract their survey work to other surveyors/assessors/loss adjusters; any assignments entrusted to them by their local and international clients are attended to by the firm exclusively. Mike begins by going into further detail about how the team at Patterson & Associates ensures that they deliver a service which not only meets the requirements of their clients but also surpasses their expectations. “As far as practically possible and to the extent applicable, we personally attend at various locations and deal directly with a variety of persons associated with the transportation, customs clearance and storage of goods, including of course the insured party. “Information obtained during these investigations often reveals information either not recorded / documented by various parties associated with the transportation of the cargo due to lack of awareness, ignorance, or deliberately held back for any number of reasons. Using this information, we are then able to issue a fully comprehensive report to our principals in order for a properly informed decision concerning liability to be taken.” Enabling the firm to deliver such a tailored service, is the passionate, dedicated and talented team which forms the backbone of Patterson & Associates. When discussing the internal culture, Mike is keen to highlight the key role the team play in the overall success of the firm. “All our staff are open, competent, honest individuals who are allowed to deal with their workloads unrestricted. “They recognise that we work in a service industry and consequently have to ensure that investigations are completed in a competent, courteous and efficient way. In addition to this, they also ensure that at all times, all parties with whom they deal with during the course of any investigation are dealt with in a polite and fair manner. Communications skills and cargo/insurance/contractual knowledge are paramount to ensuring that investigations are completed speedily and efficiently.” Looking ahead to what the future holds, Mike signs off by revealing the exciting plans which lie in the pipeline for the firm, touching on how the firm hope to expand their area of work, especially following their recent success in Acquisition Intl.’s Global Excellence Awards 2019 where they were awarded the accolade Best Specialist Marine Surveying Firm 2019 - South Africa. Devoted to Delivering Results E “Moving forward, our plans for 2019 are to increase our general area of work, which is in the main all countries in the Southern African Development Community, and offer our specialised investigative services to local and international insurers in other parts of the world where underwriters may face huge cargo claims that require additional specialist intervention.” Contact: Mike Patterson Company: Patterson & Associates (Pty) Ltd Telephone: +27 31 7655757 /+27 82 5525 130 Web Address: www.pattersonandassociates.co.za “Communications skills and cargo/ insurance/contractual knowledge are paramount to ensuring that investigations are completed speedily and efficiently.”