ABOUT US
The Spencer Company is a leading, independent average adjuster, in operation since 1998. We take pride in the speed of our response, the accuracy of our work, the reasonableness of our fees and the professional standards we uphold.
“Average” is believed to derive from an old Arabic word, “awar”, meaning “damage”. For centuries, average was a mechanism for dividing the risk inherent to a maritime adventure, with each merchant sharing in proportion to the profit, in the case of success, or in proportion to the value of what was saved, if the ship and goods had fallen into peril. That mathematical operation, of dividing things proportionately, led to the more common, modern understanding of the word.
The Spencer Company es un liquidador de averÍas independiente lÍder, operando desde el año 1998. Nos enorgullecemos de la velocidad de nuestra respuesta, la precisión de nuestro trabajo, la razonabilidad de nuestros honorarios y los estándares profesionales que mantenemos.
Se cree que ‘avería’ deriva de una antigua palabra árabe, ‘awar’, que significa ‘daño’. Durante siglos, la media fue un mecanismo para dividir el riesgo inherente a una aventura marítima, repartiendo entre los comerciantes la ganancia, en caso de éxito, o en proporción al valor del bien rescatado, si el buque y las mercancÍas habÍan caído en peligro. Esa operación matemática, de dividir las cosas proporcionalmente, condujo a la comprensión más general y moderna de la palabra inglesa ‘average’, que más comúnmente significa ‘promedio’, pero también en el contexto de los seguros significa ‘avería marítima’.
OUR SERVICES
Successful claim outcomes revolve around a combination of factors, including thinking clearly, writing clearly, communicating clearly with assureds about underwritersu2019 expectations and ensuring that surveyors produce coherent and comprehensive reports. These are all elements of the claim process that become second nature during a successful career.
General Average
General Average is a method of equitable distribution of the financial consequences of actions taken to preserve the property imperiled in a common maritime adventure. Almost universally, it is adjusted in accordance with a code called The York Antwerp Rules, of which an international maritime law body called the Comitu00e9 Maritime International (CMI) is custodian.
The CMI publishes a very useful set of General Average Guidelines, designed to introduce the topic to those unfamiliar with it.
MEET OUR STAFF
Jonathan Spencer began his career in London in 1977 with an international average adjusting company. He moved to New York in 1978 and has lived here ever since.
In 1984, he became a Full Member, by examination, of the Association of Average Adjusters of the United States.
In 1996 he joined a major Australian marine insurer and opened a New York office for them. Two years later, when that underwriter decided to concentrate its operations in London, Jonathan returned to full-time average adjusting, this time for his own account. He became a US citizen in 2006.
