The Institute of Construction Claims Practitioners (ICCP) will this month (October) launch the ICCP Claims Management Protocol, a free framework designed to help contractors, consultants and employers manage construction claims in a structured and professional manner.

The protocol, to be launched at an event in Dubai, aims to reduce the disputes that follow when claims are poorly evidenced or responses to them poorly explained.

The ICCP is a non-profit members’ organisation dedicated to raising professional standards in the management of construction claims worldwide. 

It works to establish international standards for claims management, recognise practitioners with relevant experience, and support those building expertise in the field. 

The ICCP has three goals: to establish global professional standards for the management of claims, to recognise practitioners who have gained experience in the field, and to support those who are working to build that expertise.

Inadequately expressed claims have long been a leading cause of disputes in the construction industry. Claimants often have genuine entitlement to an award of time or money but present their case so poorly that respondents are left with little choice but to reject it for want of proof. 

The protocol is also designed to address the reverse of that problem: respondents who reject a claim outright, or reduce its value, without giving adequate reasons for doing so.

“Both patterns push claims into arbitration, adjudication or litigation that could often have been avoided,” said Andy Hewitt, Executive Officer of the ICCP. 

“Even with a strong case, the outcome of formal dispute resolution can be unpredictable, and there is no guarantee it will match what the claimant is actually owed. We believe that when claims and responses are handled in a structured, professional way on both sides of the table, the great majority can be agreed at project level – without a dispute ever arising,” he added.