After the disaster: drawing up the insurance claim

Reports on the results of a major flood at the University of Sussex Library’s repository at Lewes in October 2000, which severely damaged a collection of 42,000 books, 14,000 bound periodical volumes, microfilms, newspapers, report literature and other materials. It describes the way in which the detailed insurance claim was drawn up and the methodology used to quantify the losses, using a combination of machine‐readable data, card catalogues and estimation. It also describes the methodology used to calculate the cost of restoration and the value for replacement purposes. The outcome of the claim and future plans for collection development at Sussex are summarised. The conclusion draws some general lessons for future disaster prevention on how to minimise risks from flooding and gives advice on insuring library collections as well as drawing up insurance claims after disasters.