Cindy Veerman and René de Feijter take over the Dutch Research Institute the NLOI

NLOI changed hands today. Exactly ten years after its inception, the shareholders of the Dutch Research Institute (the NLOI) sold all their shares to Cindy Veerman BSc and René de Feijter BBe. Together, Cindy and René will take over from Jaap Terhenne who will remain associated with NLOI as advisor and ambassador. The two brand-new directors will continue to work as researchers in addition to their executive positions.

Jaap Terhenne, founder and former director of NLOI, explains the takeover: "NLOI is in its tenth year of life. Researcher Cindy Veerman was hired as operations manager in early 2023, while René de Feijter has been associated with NLOI as a researcher from its inception in 2014. Both have now more than earned their spurs and firmly believe in the NLOI's fundamental principle of equality between all parties in the claims process. We believe that everyone has the right to their own expert, and it is from this perspective that we assist victims in the investigation process after damage. In this way, equality is created between all parties in determining the cause and circumstances of a claim, the possible question of guilt, and compliance with rules and agreements regarding policy conditions and other contracts.
I have spent ten years pulling the cart and, together with all the experts associated with NLOI, managed to build the company into a respected business. Now that I am ready to step back, I am very happy that Cindy and René want to take over all shares and continue the company, so that the core tasks of NLOI are guaranteed. While I will remain indirectly involved in NLOI, I will emphatically remain involved only as an advisor and ambassador. Although, the latter may not even be necessary anymore now that more and more companies, insurers, loss adjusters and brokers have realized the need to bring in their own expert."

About Cindy and René

Cindy Veerman studied Chemistry with a specialization in Crime Science and took the course in fire investigation. With these courses, supplemented by years of experience in the field of fire investigation, fire safety and performing fire resistance tests, she is able to look not only at the cause of a fire, but also at possible preventive measures or signaling of a possible upcoming hazard situation.
René de Feijter comes from a family of firefighters and gained experience in the field of fire safety and prevention in the fire department for 18 years. Over the next 17 years, he developed into an internationally recognized fire investigator (IAAI-CFI) working on the basis of NFPA 921, the guideline for science-based investigation and analysis of fire and explosion incidents.
Cindy has worked alongside insurers in the past and from there has seen how insurers run the investigation process. René has often dealt with insurance issues from the insurance broker's side. From their experience, they understand better than anyone how insurance investigations proceed.

Cindy: "René and I had expressed our desire to start a research institute together much earlier, but we absolutely did not want to compete with the NLOI. When Jaap indicated that he wanted to scale down his activities, I took the plunge and explained our 'old' wish to him. Jaap was immediately enthusiastic and together we pulled René on board. Out of that rolled this beautiful result where we are taking over the company together. NLOI's proposition fits seamlessly with our way of thinking.
As NLOI, we work uniquely for injured parties, using fire investigation to determine the direct cause of an incident or damage. We also offer incident analysis to uncover the underlying causes. We also work to prevent damage or disruptions to business continuity, including through prevention analysis as well as changing culture and behavior within an organization. All this is such rewarding work and I am therefore very happy that René and I have the opportunity to continue the thinking of the NLOI."

René: "Cindy and I find the same aspects important. Like Jaap, we value research quality and objectivity. And the equality between insured and insurer. A fire is something that happens to you. Then all kinds of things come at you that you have no experience with. That's why insureds need good support, preferably from the start of the investigation by insurers. In this way, we can offer insured parties the opportunity to walk through the process with equal expertise, being honest and open with clients regarding expectations. After all, we cannot change the outcome of an investigation. An investigation is what it is. We can, on the other hand, ensure that the investigation is conducted properly and objectively and bring in the right specialists when third-party knowledge is needed."

This fits closely with the modus operandi of the NLOI, which is a network organization in which experts such as lawyers, investigators, risk experts and trainers assist victims in the event of a disaster. In varying compositions, they work together to deal with incidents or damage or to prevent them.

Quotes partners and shareholders

Besides Jaap Terhenne, the other shareholders including Troostwijk have also sold their shares. For his part, Steven Leffelaar of Troostwijk Expertises says he is happy with Jaap's successors. "Troostwijk, together with a number of partners, stood at the cradle of the NLOI. We saw that 'equality of arms' was not really an issue in insurance investigations at the time, upon which we together conceived the plan to establish the NLOI. In 2014, we found Jaap willing to implement our plan. We had full confidence in Jaap and in the NLOI's proposition. Jaap did a fantastic job, as evidenced by the many positive reactions from the market, exceeding our expectations. As we also have great confidence in the new shareholders, we will continue to use NLOI in case of fire investigations or incident analysis. We foresee a great future for the NLOI."

Lawyer Martina Smit is one of the experts involved with the NLOI from the very beginning. Martina: "NLOI is still the only investigation agency in the Netherlands that works completely independently of insurers. This allows NLOI to assist the insured party 100% in the investigations after a calamity at a time when the insured party needs it most. It is a great thing that Cindy and René continue this core value of the NLOI. I have always worked constructively and with pleasure with Jaap and later with Cindy and I foresee an equally constructive and enjoyable collaboration with René."

Contact

NLOI's new address details are: Tussenlanen 11 (b), 2861 CB Bergambacht. NLOI can be reached by phone at +31 6 233 317 25 (Cindy Veerman) and +31 6 534 478 04 (René de Feijter). The website and e-mail address are unchanged: www.hetnloi.nl and info@hetnloi.nl.