THE COMPANY
CWH & Co is one of the largest independent firms of Surveyors and Loss Adjusters in the UK that specialises in surveys & investigations for and on behalf of Insurers that underwrite Marine Cargo, Freight Forwarders and Transit Liability Risks.
It is also retained by private companies involved in the world of shipping and commerce.
By way of history Clark Woodward & Co was originally formed back in 1978 by the merger of R F Clark & Co with Bob Hungate. At that stage due to the nature of the market, the company mainly specialised in Marine Cargo claims involving commodities such as coffee, sugar, sheet materials, steel, timber, meat, canned goods etc.
Reg Clark however could see the way the market and its logistic footprint was changing with the introduction of roll-on, roll-off vehicles from the Continent rather than general cargo vessels discharging into the London ports and the company quickly became one at the forefront of roll-on roll-off claims involving the CMR Convention in particular.
From those early days when based in the City of London, the company has grown and following the movement of certain insurers out of the City, our presence was felt to be unnecessary due to the diversification of the market and we now have bases in Kent, Suffolk, Cheshire and Birmingham.
The current company, CWH & Co was formed in a management buy out of the existing partnership in February 2011 and is moving from strength to strength expanding its client base year after year.
In addition, supporting the above offices, CWH & Co have agents employing experienced personnel throughout Europe and Worldwide.
The company’s Principals include virtually all major UK and Foreign insurance companies, Lloyds Underwriters and Underwriting Agents with those insurers utilising CWH & Co to undertake pre-shipment, security surveys and risk management investigations in addition to the normal survey and loss adjusting duties.
As a result of our expansion, our expertise has grown and we now specialise in a wide range of commodities including fruit & vegetables, foodstuffs, meat, timber, clothing, furniture, fine art and antiques etc. The company’s reputation has been built on its proficiency and ability to deal with cases at any hour at very short notice and in general terms most major areas of the UK can be covered in a matter of hours.
Apart from administrative staff the company employs 5 surveyors in Chislehurst including 2 of the original founding partners of Clark Woodward Hungate & Co, 3 surveyors in our Ipswich office serving East Anglia and in particular the Port of Felixstowe, 1 in the Midlands, 1 in our Northern hub in Knutsford and 1 in Leeds.
The company however is actively recruiting personnel either in an experienced capacity or people willing to learn but this of course is a long term prospect.
It should also be noted that in February 2019 CWH & Co bought Seden Clarek, a company specialising in ships work, project cargo, breakbulk and the suchlike.
CWH & Co is a founding corporate member of the trade organisation The British Association of Cargo Surveyors (BACS) and has always had a member on its committee.
It is approved to ISO 9001:2015 standard and is regulated by the Financial Conduct Authority (FCA).
Our overall aim is to provide a professional and efficient service to our Principals and have a highly organised back up team to support its Surveyors and Loss Adjusters, all of whom are contactable on a 24/7 basis.