Anyone who has had the experience of having to claim on their buildings insurance knows how stressful it is. You may have come home to find a leak has brought down a ceiling or gone to work to find that someone has broken in and damaged the windows and doorframes. You need to get on with everyday life, looking after your family and running your business, so the thought of sorting out the insurance claim and repairs is daunting.

Spettro is a buildings insurance claims management company who can liaise with your insurer and complete the repairs at no extra cost to you as long as you are fully insured. It is a service that surprises people when they find it exists but for many it is a service that saves them a lot of worry. However, it is also a service that is now popular with the insurers as well as the insured.

As with all business, the insurance sector is now experiencing increased competitiveness and when insurance claims are processed the insurers want to make sure that the repairs relating to the claim are completed in the most cost effective way without compromising on the quality of the work. One of the ways they can do this is by using a company like Spettro who are experienced in property repairs and pride themselves on a professional approach.

Spettro’s Founding Director Tony Smith explains why Spettro’s business is increasing despite these hard economic times, “ There are several reasons why we insist on a professional approach from our Spettro team and tradespeople. Firstly, we rely on our clients being happy with the completed work to their properties as we trade on our good name. The testimonials help to convince potential clients that we are a company to be trusted and a happy client is the best referral tool.

“Secondly, our experience and good name means that we are trusted by insurers so that they can whole-heartedly recommend us to complete repair work associated with insurance claims. Insurers want to be secure in the knowledge that we will complete a quality repair job at a competitive price as this will impress the insured and hopefully increase their loyalty to the insurance company when it comes to renewal time.”

One of the key elements to our professional approach is keeping up-to-date with advancements in technology. Our team is trained in the latest equipment to aid comprehensive investigations into property damage, for example, thermal imaging cameras in the detection of water leaks. The ability to give a thorough report on the damage gives insurers and the insured peace of mind that this will also bring about the most appropriate repair work. The insurer can be assured that the cost of work is accurate and the insured can be assured that their property will be repaired in a certain time-frame and to a high standard.

Spettro has been established since 1971 and has branches across the UK including Northern Ireland. The company has a number of professional accreditations and affiliations including the Financial Services Authority, the National Landlords Association, the British Damage Management Association, The Guild of Master Craftsmen and the Chartered Insurance Institute.

The National Landlords Association (NLA), the leading independent national organisation for private residential landlords, has approved Spettro as one of their recognised suppliers.

The NLA currently represent over 14,000 members throughout the UK including full-time landlords with large property portfolios to those with houses-of-multiple-occupancy or with single bedroom flats. The NLA seek a fair legal and regulatory environment for landlord and tenant, and actively lobby the government at all levels on behalf of their members. They also help ensure that their members are aware of their statutory rights and responsibilities.

The NLA 's Recognised Suppliers Scheme aims to help their members avoid the "cowboys" and, of course, Spettro is pleased to be part of this scheme. Kevin England, one of the Directors at Spettro, explains why this is another great affiliation for the company, "This recognition gives us a double-boost as we can say that another national organisation trusts us and our services and it also brings another income stream for our network of offices across the UK."

Visit  www.landlords.org.uk for more information.

Central Birmingham was the location for Spettro’s first ever annual franchisee seminar this January, organised due to the unexpected growth of the franchise network in the last year. With over 30 years in the industry and well-established relationships with all major insurers, Spettro has proven itself to be extremely popular for any would-be franchise owner to quickly establish and grow a management franchise.

The franchise network now extends to 27 yellow page-sized territories across the UK plus the central office running 2 additional territories and so after 14 months of the franchise being available it was time to get all the franchisees together for the first annual seminar. The day included training and information with a chance to discuss different business successes between the company directors and franchisees as well as external organisations.

“It was great to have everyone together for the first time. We wanted to offer a balance of information to our franchisees on how to progress their business, especially considering the current economic climate. So we ran sessions throughout the day covering marketing and advertising, new industry standards and franchisee experiences,” explains Tony Smith, one of the directors at Spettro, “The only thing we need to work on is keeping to time after we got rather carried away with the excitement of some new technology for leak detection presented to us by The National Flood School!”

The franchisees certainly appreciated the day’s seminar programme as Phillipa from Spettro Nottingham explains, “It was a real morale booster to see so many Spettro franchisees in one place and be able to bond as a company.”

Richard from Spettro Derby added, “The content of the programme was very useful and informative. It certainly made the wheels spin in the grey matter with regard to future development, educational and equipment needs.”

Graham Calladine has been running the Chesterfield & Mansfield area for just over a year and has now expanded to Sheffield.

Graham launched Spettro (Chesterfield & Mansfield) at the height of the 2007 summer floods and has continued to bring in business ever since. His business became operational a little quicker than he expected in order to help families around the area when their homes were affected by the severe flooding. Graham was surprised with his initial success, “I couldn’t believe that I managed to earn back over half the cost of my franchise in just one week of trading!”

Graham explains why he decided to take on another franchise territory, “Spettro seems to be going places and getting a stronger hold in the market with every passing week. I am really looking forward to the challenge of managing both franchise areas and keeping very busy!”

Spettro deals with claims for flood, fire, storm, impact damage and burglaries. They also are involved in property rental refurbishments and detecting the origin of water leaks. Spettro Limited is regulated by the Financial Services Authority (FSA) which allows them to loss assess and mediate with all the major insurance companies, a service which is free of charge to the insured.

Spettro’s pilot franchise turned over £240,000 in its first year, with a 65% operating profit and with 24 yellow page territories launched or soon to launch, why not request a prospectus: contact Spettro on 01883 621047

Spettro’s first three franchisees launched in August 2007 and after their first year of trading with Spettro are keen to recommend the business opportunity to others.

Graham Calladine (Chesterfield & Mansfield), Kevin Edwards (Manchester Central) and Raza Ahmed (Bradford) launched their Spettro franchises at the height of last summer’s floods and have continued to bring in business ever since. Graham’s franchise became operational a little quicker than he expected to help families around the area when their homes were affected by the severe flooding. Graham was surprised with his initial success, “I couldn’t believe that I managed to earn back over half the cost of my franchise in just one week of trading!”

Raza is also enjoying the rewards of running his own business, “I am more than happy with the performance of my franchise. The success and financial rewards are more than what I hoped for and with excellent help from all the team at head office the franchise has really proved itself.”

Mark Carey launched his franchise in Tunbridge Wells this June and explains why he decided Spettro was the franchise for him, “I chose Spettro for several reasons, principal amongst which is that buildings insurance is a non discretionary expense (if you have a mortgage) and therefore would not be directly affected by general economic conditions, the territory assigned is large enough to be viable and Kevin and Tony’s approach to selling was not high pressure.”
Spettro deals with claims for flood, fire, storm, impact damage and burglaries. They also are involved in property rental refurbishments and detecting the origin of water leaks. The business is regulated by the Financial Services Authority (FSA) which allows them to loss assess and mediate with all the major insurance companies, a service which is free of charge to the insured.

A Spettro franchise territory is based on a Yellow Pages region and if you purchase a franchise you receive the sole rights to operate for Spettro in that whole region. Spettro now have 20 territories launched or soon to launch across the UK and those still available include East London, Glasgow North and Birmingham Central.