Mr. John Cahalan:

FBD has a long and proud history of paying claims. We are in the business of being there for our customers when things go wrong. We are the company that provides the backstop for them. Our motto in FBD is to be fair to the customer and fair to FBD. What we try to do is a very thorough assessment of each claim. We are looking for the following: Are they on cover; are we liable and what is the quantum? If we can answer yes that they are on cover, that we FBD is liable and we can agree a quantum, it is in our interest and the interest of the insured party and the customer's interest to settle the claim as fast as possible for a fair price. If that is not the case, we fight the case through a lengthy litigation process. Part of the difficulty as I have mentioned in my presentation is the length of time it takes to go through that process and how much it costs.