British forensic accounting firm C Lewis & Company has opened a Sydney office to provide services to insurers, loss adjusters and brokers in Australia, New Zealand and the wider region.

The Sydney team includes senior associates Helen Markey and Jonas Wu and associate Marcus Chiam.

C Lewis partner Mark Lewis says the firm has strong relationships with Lloyd’s-backed underwriters, which are expanding in Australia and driving a focus on robust reserving and service quality in business interruption claims.

“Our specialist team is well qualified in this space, where insurers are increasingly demanding a deeper BI expertise and full independence – both of which are increasingly critical requirements for clients,” he tells insuranceNEWS.com.au.

C Lewis says the Australian market continues to face challenges around business interruption quantification, which involves projecting what a business’ turnover, gross profit and expenses would have been if an insured event did not happen.

“Post-covid and recent inflation have significantly altered business trends across all industries, making these projections far more complex due to volatile market conditions,” Mr Lewis said.

“Compounding this is the widespread issue of underinsurance, where many businesses fail to properly calculate and declare realistic gross profit sums insured, frequently triggering average clauses and resulting in reduced claim payouts.”

Mr Lewis says the firm will explore growth opportunities in financial lines and the litigation space, and opportunities to expand geographically in Australia and New Zealand.

It aims to hire more senior professionals while exploring opportunities in cities including Melbourne, Brisbane, Perth and Auckland.

C Lewis says the Sydney office is part of a global expansion, and it works on matters ranging from sole trader losses to claims exceeding £1 billion ($1.9 billion).