Jack Torpey is a principal with Baker Tilly’s forensic, litigation and valuation services practice. He has specialised in forensic accounting and financial investigations since 2009. During his time at the firm, Jack has gained experience in evaluating economic losses and losses of business value in a wide range of industries and circumstances including business interruption, loss of profit, increased costs of working, fraud and product recall.
Jack has written numerous reports for both insurers and lawyers and has attended court hearings, arbitrations and mediations on cases he has managed. He has worked in the UK, the Middle East, Europe, the Americas, Africa and Asia, assessing a range of claims from small local businesses to large multinational companies.
- Downstream: Jack has managed multi-million dollar refinery losses in Europe and the Middle East and has assisted in the review of various other refinery and petrochemical incidents, including claims that were in excess of USD one billion. A representative sample is illustrated below
- A fire at the hydrodesulphurisation unit at an Israeli refinery resulted in operations being impacted for about five months. At the outset of the review, it was determined that the loss was able to be quantified to a high degree of accuracy as the feed product into the hydrodesulphurisation continued to be produced, it was just unable to be desulphurised. The Insured was contractually obliged to supply ultra-low sulphur diesel to customers and a key part of our review was to ensure the volumes claimed were supported, as well as calculating the savings achieved by the Insured due to the incident, such as in gas, electricity and steam. The team’s input contributed to the loss being settled two months after the plant returned to full operations, to the satisfaction of all parties
- Following a power cut, a European oil refinery suffered damage to the column, with temporary measures being put in place to enable production to continue at a reduced rate. The business interruption and increased costs of working losses were a result of a lower throughput and a reduced yield. The review included analysis of the Linear Programme to ensure its projections were historically in-line with actual, and a review of savings that had not been considered, such as carbon emissions. The €10 million claim was settled amicably with the analysis largely being accepted by the Insured
- Power: Jack has quantified losses at both conventional and a variety of renewable facilities, including wind, biomass, solar and hydro. These reviews have covered a wide range of geographies. A representative sample is included below
- A fire in the absorber tower at a UK coal-fired power plant resulted in a £50 million business interruption claim. The review included the preparation of numerous calculations as it was unclear for several months how reinstatement would be achieved given environmental restrictions. The team reviewed the Insured’s complex claim model, highlighting overstatements in the claimed loss period and the impact of coal availability that would have occurred in any event. The insurance claim was settled amicably and it is currently subject to a subrogation action, which Baker Tilly is also assisting with
- An energy from waste facility in the UK suffered business interruption losses following a trip, resulting in downtime for around 200 days. Jack’s experience of the UK electricity market assisted in the review of the claim concerning the applicable PPA, which included losses of various revenue streams, confirming that the claim was largely reasonably stated although we noted that business rate savings had not been included
- A transformer failure at a combined cycle gas turbine resulted in a loss of TRIAD income to the Insured, an embedded generator supplying the mainland of the UK with power. The team reviewed the TRIAD claim, noting some minor omissions, with our analysis key in concluding the matter expediently
- A hydro-electric plant in South America suffered a delay due to the site being flooded, resulting in an advance loss of profits claim being submitted. Key considerations included the impact of seasonality on expected and actual generation, how the loss should be calculated per the PPA that was in place, and the possible extent of loss given the differing lengths of delay period length of time key items were due to arrive on-site. The team’s calculations were fundamental to the claim settling amicably
- Wind farms: offshore wind farm in the U.S. that has incurred losses on more than 50 turbines, each of which has its own indemnity period and deductible
- Wind farms: onshore wind farm in the UK where a transformer was damaged
- Energy losses in Israel: gas-fired power plant that suffered an extended period of downtime due to damage to the turbine blades
- Energy losses in Israel: delayed startup claim at a thermal solar power plant under construction resulting from a boiler explosion
- Energy losses in Israel: combined cycle gas turbine facility that suffered an outage due to damage to the steam turbine
- Energy losses in Israel: power failure at a gas-fired combined cycle plant resulting in business interruption losses
- Energy losses in Israel: delayed startup claim submitted following an incident at a gas turbine which resulted in a power plant under construction being delayed
- Energy losses in Israel: hydro-electric plant under construction that has suffered numerous incidents, delaying the commencement of operations
- Jack has been involved in the preparation of expert accounting evidence for trial for both claimants and defendants. He has attended mediations, arbitrations and the UK High Court to assist his colleagues in various cases
- Jack has presented to insurers, loss adjusters and lawyers on a number of occasions, with the quantification of energy losses forming part of the majority of these
- Institute of Chartered Accountants in England and Wales, member
