The Press Doctor Diagnoses Printing Press Ailments, Saving Insurers Millions

Commercial multi-peril insurance companies breathe a sigh of relief when Louis "Lou" Benbow, recognized industry-wide as "The Press Doctor", comes to the rescue. When printing presses break down mechanically or electrically, it's an emergency with costly and unsettling ramifications to the insurance provider. Benbow's equipment consultation skills have saved insurance companies an average of five to ten million dollars per year (annualized).

San Francisco, CA (PRWEB) July, 2003 - Commercial multi-peril insurance companies breathe a sigh of relief when Louis "Lou" Benbow, recognized industry-wide as "The Press Doctor", comes to the rescue. When printing presses break down mechanically or electrically, it's an emergency with costly and unsettling ramifications to the insurance provider.

Benbow has earned a popularity and national clientele that marks him a hot commodity to insurance companies. Yet, the acclaimed "ambulance chaser of the insurance industry" stirs fear in the hearts of press equipment manufacturers who stand to gain millions when a machine is marked irreparable. With average individual claims mounting millions, and state-of-the-art printing presses costing millions of dollars to replace, Benbow's equipment consultation skills have saved insurance companies an average of five to ten million dollars per year (annualized).

Benbow racks up approximately 250,000 frequent flier miles per year, trekking to virtually every major city - from Hollywood to Tucson to Dallas, to New York and Miami. Like a surgeon on call, he routinely jumps flights from one press breakdown to rush to resuscitate another. Spending an average period of 1 to 3 days at each claim scene, Benbow arrives with nothing but his trusted eyes and ears - fine-tuned tools of the trade that detect causes of press malfunction, oftentimes enabling insurers to repair equipment versus suffer a total replacement. "You have to be a sort of Columbo" describes Benbow, who meets with plant personnel and field engineers to set up test procedures to determine the extent of damage.

A typical case was when he was contracted by regular client The Hartford Steam Boiler Inspection and Insurance Company in Hartford, Connecticut. One of the world's leading equipment breakdown insurers, Hartford Steam Boiler underwrites printing press coverage for some 200 insurance companies. " When I arrived at the Chicago print site to investigate a claim that could have cost the insurance company $4- million dollars I walked into a meeting of the German manufacturer, the press owner and their plant personnel ? all in unanimous agreement that the press needed to be replaced," Benbow recalls. In what was pretty much Columbo style, Benbow quietly listened to the dim prognosis, then fired a round of questions at the manufacturer. "When I asked minor questions, they replied "I dun-no" in dumbfounded fashion," Benbow reenacted. "As it turned out they had not performed the rudimentary checks." Four weeks later, Benbow had the press running for $209,000 ? a fraction of the cost of replacement. "The insurance company was dancing in the isles," boasts Benbow.

According to Robert Weir, an attorney and the Director of Engineering for The Hartford Steam Boiler Insurance Company, " Hartford Steam Boiler's printing losses have improved four-fold with less than one fourth of claim losses in the almost ten years that I have worked with Lou." Printing press claims represent a difficult industry segment, according to Weir, with pay outs of as much as $7 in losses for every dollar of intake in premiums. "When it comes to solutions, there aren't many like Lou," maintains Weir. Laughing, he added, "in fact, I haven't found two."

David Lofton, now a senior claims specialist for Zurich Insurance, worked extensively with Benbow since 1997, dating back to Lofton's tenure at Hartford Steam Boiler.

"Over a five year period Lou's expertise saved us $600,000 to $700,000, just in mitigation," estimates Lofton. "We'd have Lou standing there with the repair firm because he always has more experience than the actual claims adjuster." Lofton, who now uses Benbow's services at Zurich Insurance, characterizes Benbow as a virtual "insurance for the insurance agency."

Del Schirmer, Loss Control Engineer for Travelers Insurance in St. Paul, Minnesota agrees, "The first phone call we make is to Lou when a printing press has had an 'occurrence' as we call it in this business. He knows virtually everything there is to know about a printing press."

Benbow described yet another case where he was called in when a company contracted to print postage stamps for the government, experienced a press breakdown. Immediately, the printing company filed a claim. Benbow's thorough inspection uncovered the unexpected ? the press was a prototype and not the actual insured model. "They were advised to withdraw claim or face litigation," cites Benbow, who is qualified to also act as an expert witness for insurance companies in cases of fraud.

Though Benbow admits that a thick cloud fills the room upon his site visits, there's more to his rare trade than resuscitating printers that have been marked for the morgue, and diagnosing what's oftentimes self-afflicting damage. He is also a savior to companies who desire to remedy a printing press hiccup at lesser costs.

Benbow also makes "house calls" for property damage claims where a printing facility or corporation has incurred flood, explosion or fire damage. In most cases, the printing press may be among the most costly piece of machinery listed on a property claim, he explains. When Benbow determines that the equipment can be restored to life, the property claim insurer is spared millions of dollars.

Breathing new life into misdiagnosed printing equipment has proven to be big business for "The Press Doctor". With an average base rate of $3,000 per day plus travel expenses, Benbow has billed up to $80,000 for saving an insurance company $4,000,000, a sum of 5%. His extraordinary specialization places him at the $400,000 mark in annual revenues.

Benbow is quick to point out that he is not a rookie in the unique industry - and certainly not to the printing industry. Introduced to the field at the age of nine or ten, Benbow says that the print shop became a "dumping ground" for kids in search of a light class to kill time. Only in Benbow's case, he loved it.

Early employment with a music publisher who printed Beetle's music adapted for the trombone and other instruments, gave Benbow his first shot behind the presses on a full-time basis. Four years in the US Air Force, maintaining all printing equipment in the printing plant for the Man on the Moon Project perfected Benbow's technological proficiency. In what's been a successful succession of jobs in the printing business, Benbow enhanced highly sought after consultation skills that insurers needed.

After thirty-plus years in the practice, " The Press Doctor" bears the professional claims experience and expertise to prescribe quick recoveries for press insurers and those companies directly impacted by complex claims.