The shrimp fisherman, who was accused of gross insurance fraud and fraud against the insurance company after a dramatic boat fire and shipwreck outside Moss, was awarded 3.25 million in compensation by the company on Monday.
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– I agreed to a settlement because it has been so long and because it is tiring to stand in such a case, especially for the family, says the former shrimp fisherman Henrik Sørensen (52).
After a five-hour court mediation in Moss on Monday, Havtrygd Gjensidig forsikring agreed to pay out just over three million kroner in compensation.
Photo: Mattis Sandblad / VG
Sørensen himself has had NOK 700,000 in expenses in the case and the dispute with his insurance company.
In addition, he has around one million kroner in debt on the sunken boat.
– The compensation does not give me the opportunity to buy a new boat. But it gives me the opportunity to move on, put everything behind me and draw a line, says the engineer who took a severance package as a technician at TV 2 to become a shrimp fisherman in the Oslo Fjord.
DRAMATIC: The picture was taken by the Rescue Company. Photo: Havtrygd / Gjensidige’s own report
It is almost two years ago that on a November day a fire broke out in the engine room of the shrimp trawler “Teis”, outside Fuglevik in Moss.
A gas bottle on board also caught fire.
The rescue company worked for several hours to extinguish the fire, before the boat dramatically sank to the bottom stern first.
– The experience has not been fully processed. I’m very glad I didn’t go down with the boat. It would have been best if I had got back on the lake, but I have become more splashy than I was before. Anxiety comes and takes me a little faster now, says Sørensen.
Photo: Mattis Sandblad / VG
Henrik Sørensen was picked up by another boat and taken to hospital by helicopter. There he was treated for smoke inhalation.
Since then, he and the insurance companies Havtrygd and Gjensidige, who are co-insurers, have disagreed about what happened.
At the heart of the dispute was a large gas cylinder used to cook shrimp:
According to the insurance companies’ own report, the gas cylinder was most likely placed in the cabin by the door to the toilet before the fire. Sørensen rejects this. He says it was on deck as it used to be, and believes it has moved into the cabin in connection with the accident or the later raising of the boat. Photo: Mattis Sandblad / VG
He said this in an interview with VG this summer.
The insurance companies demanded NOK 1.6 million from Sørensen for costs in connection with the case. This caused him to take legal action against the insurance companies.
He brought the case to have the boat’s value of NOK 2.9 million replaced, as well as court costs and interest totaling NOK 4.1 million.
– But in August the insurance company turned around on the basis of the photographic evidence which showed that the gas cylinder was out on the deck. The photos show traces of soot and fire damage where they stood, explains Sørensen.
The insurance company must have claimed that the gas cylinder, which weighs 59 kilograms, was stored under the deck, in violation of the regulations.
– It felt like a victory when I received that email from the other party, and that they finally saw what everyone else had seen. I was of course relieved, but my God, do they need to spend a year on it, asks Sørensen.
Photo: Jan Egil Sandstad / Jan Egil Sandstad
The plan was for the parties to meet in the district court on 25 September to decide whether Sørensen had committed insurance fraud, and whether his insurance should be cut short.
– But the judge in Fredrikstad District Court suggested mediation.
Photo: Svein I Engevold / VG
– It is terrible to have such a suspicion about you, and of course a lot of work. In addition, Havtrygd and Gjensidige have robbed me of the opportunity to be a fisherman, which was my dream job. Both because I lost my sales place in Moss and won’t be able to buy a new boat.
Recently, the Fredrikstadmannen has been back in some work as a technician at TV 2 and he has partly lived on his wife, who works at NRK.
Bjarte Wallevik is accident manager at Havtrygd Gjensidig forsikring, and says that there was new evidence in the case which meant that in August there was no longer a basis for maintaining the allegation against Henrik Sørensen of fraud, or insurance fraud.
SNUDDE: Casualty manager Bjarte Wallevik at Havtrygd Gjensidig forsikring Photo: Havtrygd Gjensidig forsikring
– There was new photographic evidence that supported his explanation, he says to VG.
– What do you think of him claiming that you have robbed him of the opportunity to be a shrimp fisherman?
– I don’t have much to comment on that. Our task is to treat everyone equally, and investigate either confirmation or denial of suspicion. Here we found no basis for claiming fraud and withdrew the claim immediately, says Wallevik.
– What do you think about the strain Henrik Sørensen and his family have endured for a long time?
– I can understand that it has been an unpleasant situation. I fully understand that.
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Published: 25.10.23 at 04:11
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2023-10-25 02:11:09
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