Sedgwick’s ‘recall ready’ service enables faster response to product recall events.

In the 25 years that Sedgwick has been handling product recalls — more than 5,000 to date – we’ve seen awareness of these events increase significantly.

Whilst many businesses are self-insured, those buying cover continues to grow; this risk transfer means that insurers are paying out on a greater number of recalls. We’re also starting to see more full limit losses above $150,000,000 (occurring during 2022 as we came out of lockdown) increasing the financial burden all round.

Market withdrawals and recalls, driven by failures in the production process, are influenced by a number of factors: machinery and/or human error, supply chain issues, scarcity of parts, even spoilage caused by delays in shipping. For example, we have identified in the past 12 months that Lithium ion batteries are causing more recalls due to their propensity to overheat; in the auto space, new vehicle recalls are not uncommon when components fail.

Given the current challenges around recruitment efforts — and the ever-increasing costs of doing business – it can be nearly impossible for a business to run a large-scale withdrawal or recall event without quickly upscaling of their team. More and more, companies are meeting this demand by outsourcing.

Sedgwick’s experience suggests that the most successful recall events are defined by the speed of the first response. Delayed action can lead to potential miscommunication, bad publicity in the press (made even worse through social media), injury, property damage — even financial penalties from regulators. To reduce these delays, Sedgwick’s brand protection team offers a ‘recall ready’ service, designed to ensure that businesses are fully prepared should the worst happen and a recall event is triggered. Because each recall event is unique, our team has access to key resources required to respond quickly and urgently – a reserve of workers to cover increased telephone and online traffic, or create a microsite to keep affected consumers fully updated – combined with the experience to stay calm and focused under pressure.

Even without a recall event, many businesses are looking to outsource their complaints centres. This allows for broader coverage and more opportunity to look after customers and monitor satisfaction levels. Sedgwick’s experts also have experience in running and monitoring such facilities, and are prepared to escalate quickly should we identify circumstances that could lead to a recall.

To learn more about how Sedgwick’s brand protection capabilities can help retain your clients, please contact Julie Ross – Julie.ross@uk.sedgwick.com / +44 7385 428011 or Paul Bloxsome – paul.bloxsome@au.sedgwick.com / +61 430 273200