We are retained by underwriters, syndicates, captives, courts and corporate risk teams when the loss is large, the technology is complex, and the conclusion must withstand scrutiny in negotiation, arbitration or court — on land, at sea, and across the grid.
We do not investigate small claims. We do not work for repair industries, salvors or contractors. Our work serves three engagement types — recovery, defence, and adjudication — and every report is built to a standard of methodical exclusion of alternative causes. Independence is structural, not declared.
We trace technical causation to the responsible party — the manufacturer, the contractor, the operator, the maintenance vendor, the certifier — and document it to a standard that holds in negotiation, arbitration and court. Our recovery files travel internationally and integrate with counsel from London to Singapore.
We defeat overreach by testing the claimant's chain of inference. Where alternative causation has not been excluded, the chain breaks. Many of our reports terminate disputes before trial — not by litigating harder, but by exposing what the claimant's narrative does not survive.
Court-appointed expertise for civil courts, party-appointed expertise in arbitration (ICC, LCIA, DIS, ad hoc), single joint expert in commercial disputes. Reports drafted to international evidentiary standards in English, German, French, Italian, Spanish and Portuguese.
We deploy on five engineering domains. Each requires its own forensic vocabulary, its own laboratory partners, and its own evidentiary standards. The discipline that holds them together is methodical exclusion of alternative causation — the standard a conclusion must meet before it can be defended.
Engine room fires, machinery breakdown, container vessel incidents, cargo damage, salvage assessment, ballast and stability events. We work both the hull-and-machinery side and the cargo side, with reports accepted by London market, P&I clubs, IUMI underwriters, and average adjusters internationally.
Increasingly the largest loss category in global P&C portfolios. Utility-scale PV fires, gearbox and bearing failure on wind, lithium battery thermal runaway, MV switchgear and transformer events.
Process plant fires, explosions, equipment catastrophic failure. Polymer, chemical, food, paper, automotive, metallurgy. Where the loss interacts with business interruption, we coordinate with forensic accountants on causation-to-quantum.
Large commercial property losses, natural catastrophe interactions with engineered systems — flood-damaged switchgear, hail-damaged PV, wind-event roof failures, post-quake structural-electrical assessment. Where insurers require independent re-examination of CAT-related quantum.
Court-appointed expert work for civil courts, party-appointed expertise in international arbitration, and single joint expert appointments in commercial disputes. Reports written to be cross-examined.
Maritime losses are uniquely complex: jurisdiction at sea, multiple insureds, time-charter and bareboat overlays, salvage and general average interactions. We provide engineering causation that survives examination by London market, P&I clubs, hull underwriters and average adjusters.
Container vessel fires, in particular, have become the defining loss class of the last five years — lithium-cell mis-declared cargo, EV transport, polymer pellets, fertilisers. We are equipped for the technical reality of the modern stowage plan.
Main engine, auxiliary, boiler, pump, lubrication. Cause and contribution to ISM-Code standard.
Stowage interaction, mis-declared dangerous goods, lithium cell ignition, fixed firefighting effectiveness.
Liquid, dry-bulk, project, refrigerated, chemical, automotive. From bill of lading to discharge.
Pre-incident maintenance, structural damage assessment, repair cost defensibility, CTL determination.
Engine room, electrical, propulsion, fire causation. Discreet handling. London market and Continental hull markets.
Discretion is part of the work. We do not publish loss values, client names, vessel names or jurisdiction-identifying detail. The descriptions below characterise the type of engineering and the type of engagement — nothing more. Substantive references are available on instructed disclosure to qualified market participants under conflicts and confidentiality protocols.
Forensic disassembly of representative inverter units identified a specific component-level defect traceable to a single manufacturing batch. Documentation supported recovery action coordinated through international counsel.
Retained by H&M underwriter for cause and contribution. Inspection of engine, lubrication regime, and crew records established that the casualty did not arise from a sudden insured peril within the policy's intended scope.
Engineering analysis distinguished cell-level defect propagation from operational mismanagement. Findings adopted in commercial settlement; site operator retained policy coverage on the remaining quantum.
Catastrophic process loss. Cause traced to a specific control-system intervention; coordination with local jurisdictions in three regions; recovery file structured for international litigation strategy.
Series claim differentiated by turbine-individual root cause. Some attributable to component supplier, others to maintenance vendor, others to operational regime. Mixed-liability allocation enabled commercial settlement across the counterparties.
Engine room fire in a luxury motor yacht. Investigation conducted under confidentiality protocols appropriate to high-net-worth ownership. Cause determined; matter resolved without arbitration.
A defensible conclusion is not the most likely explanation. It is the conclusion that survives after alternative causes have been methodically excluded. Our process is built backwards from cross-examination.
On site within 24–72 hours globally. Witness preservation, evidence chain, sample retrieval. Drone, thermography, electrical and mechanical instrumentation as the loss requires.
Laboratory work with accredited partners. Material science, electrical engineering, mechanical engineering, fire dynamics, chemistry — disciplines retained per the loss, not pre-bundled.
Root cause established by methodical exclusion of alternative causation. The only standard that holds under cross-examination — and the only standard worth presenting to underwriters or counsel.
Reports drafted in English, German, French, Italian, Spanish or Portuguese. Court-ready, arbitration-ready, settlement-ready. Drafted to be cross-examined, not merely read.
A defensible expert opinion is not what postulates the most plausible cause — it is what methodically excludes the alternatives, and rests on the conclusion that remains.
We do not work for repair industries. We do not work for salvors. We do not work for contractors who would benefit from a particular finding. Our income comes from underwriters, courts, and corporate risk teams — the parties whose interest is the truth, not the rebuild.
For time-critical losses, contact the principal directly. For non-urgent matters, the contact form below routes to instructed work intake. Conflicts and confidentiality are cleared on engagement, not before disclosure.
Insurers, reinsurers, captives, syndicates, P&I clubs, average adjusters, civil courts, arbitral tribunals, corporate risk and legal teams.
Site presence within 24–72 hours globally for emergency mobilisation. Standard engagement: instruction to first written report within 14 days.
Work for repair, salvage, restoration or contracting industries. Speculate beyond methodically supportable cause. Conclude on instruction.
Evidence degrades within hours. Witnesses leave the site. Components are removed for repair or disposal. Early instruction preserves recovery and defence options that cannot be reconstructed later.
Direct lines, no intake form, no junior triage. We respond to qualified market participants within the working day. Emergency mobilisation is decided by the principal on the call.
Technische Sachverständige für Großschäden weltweit. Forensische Ingenieurleistungen für Versicherer, Rückversicherer, Captives und Gerichte. Schwerpunkte: Regress, Abwehr unberechtigter Forderungen, Schiedsgerichts- und Gerichtsgutachten. Industrie, Energie, Maritim. Weltweiter Einsatz innerhalb 24–72 Stunden.
Regress-Strategie ab dem ersten Tag. Drei Eingangsfragen: Versicherter Schaden? Regress aussichtsreich? Pflichtverletzung des Betreibers? Anspruchskette: Hersteller, Errichter, Wartung, Betreiber. Wir liefern technisch belastbare Ursachenfeststellung, Beweissicherung und prozessbegleitende Begutachtung — nicht polizeiliche Ermittlung, nicht Werksgutachten des Herstellers. Prüfung der Obliegenheiten des Betreibers nach § 28 VVG, Verkehrssicherungspflichten, BGH-Linie zu Überwachungs- und Prüfpflichten.
Experts techniques pour les sinistres majeurs à l'international. Ingénierie légale indépendante pour assureurs, réassureurs, captives et tribunaux. Spécialités : recours subrogatoire, défense contre des réclamations infondées, expertises judiciaires et arbitrales. Industrie, énergie, maritime. Intervention mondiale 24–72 h.
Stratégie de recours dès le premier jour. Trois questions d'entrée : sinistre garanti ? recours subrogatoire viable ? manquement de l'exploitant ? Chaîne des responsables : fabricant, installateur, mainteneur, exploitant / réseau. Nous fournissons une établissement technique des causes, la préservation des preuves et l'assistance contentieuse — ce n'est ni l'enquête de police ni l'expertise du fabricant. Examen des obligations de l'exploitant, des devoirs de surveillance et des règles de l'art applicables.
Esperti tecnici per i grandi sinistri internazionali. Ingegneria forense indipendente per assicuratori, riassicuratori, captive e tribunali. Specialità: surroga assicurativa, difesa contro richieste infondate, perizie giudiziarie e arbitrali. Industria, energia, marittimo. Intervento mondiale entro 24–72 ore.
Strategia di surroga fin dal primo giorno. Tre domande iniziali: sinistro coperto? surroga praticabile? inadempimento del gestore? Catena dei responsabili: fabbricante, installatore, manutentore, gestore. Forniamo accertamento tecnico delle cause, conservazione delle prove e supporto processuale — non è l'indagine di polizia né la perizia di fabbrica del costruttore. Verifica degli obblighi del gestore, dei doveri di sorveglianza e delle regole dell'arte applicabili.
Peritos técnicos para grandes siniestros internacionales. Ingeniería forense independiente para aseguradoras, reaseguradoras, cáutivas y tribunales. Especialidades: subrogación de seguros, defensa contra reclamaciones infundadas, peritaciones judiciales y arbitrales. Industria, energía, marítimo. Despliegue mundial 24–72 h.
Estrategia de subrogación desde el primer día. Tres preguntas iniciales: ¿siniestro cubierto? ¿subrogación viable? ¿incumplimiento del operador? Cadena de responsables: fabricante, instalador, mantenedor, operador. Aportamos determinación técnica de la causa, conservación de la prueba y asistencia procesal — no es la investigación policial ni la pericia de fábrica del fabricante. Revisión de las obligaciones del operador, deberes de vigilancia y reglas del arte aplicables.
Peritos técnicos para grandes sinistros internacionais. Engenharia forense independente para seguradoras, resseguradoras, cátivas e tribunais. Especialidades: sub-rogação de seguros, defesa contra reivindicações infundadas, perícias judiciais e arbitrais. Indústria, energia, marítimo. Atuação mundial em 24–72 h.
Estratégia de sub-rogação desde o primeiro dia. Três perguntas iniciais: sinistro coberto? sub-rogação viável? incumprimento do operador? Cadeia de responsáveis: fabricante, instalador, manutenção, operador. Realizamos determinação técnica da causa, preservação da prova e apoio processual — não se confunde com a investigação policial nem com a perícia interna do fabricante. Análise das obrigações do operador, deveres de vigilância e regras da arte aplicáveis.
Technische experts voor grote internationale schades. Onafhankelijke forensische techniek voor verzekeraars, herverzekeraars, captives en rechtbanken. Specialiteiten: regres (subrogatie), verweer tegen ongegronde claims, gerechtelijke en arbitrale expertise. Industrie, energie, maritiem. Wereldwijd inzetbaar binnen 24–72 uur.
Regresstrategie vanaf dag één. Drie ingangsvragen: gedekte schade? regres haalbaar? plichtsverzuim van de exploitant? Aansprakelijkheidsketen: fabrikant, installateur, onderhoud, exploitant / netbeheerder. Wij leveren technisch onderbouwde oorzaakvaststelling, bewijszekerstelling en procesbegeleiding — geen politioneel onderzoek, geen fabrieksrapport van de fabrikant. Toetsing van de verplichtingen van de exploitant, toezicht- en zorgplichten en geldende regels der techniek.
IGO Ingenieurgesellschaft Opp mbH
Am Wissenschaftspark 16
D–54296 Trier · Germany
Managing director: Dipl.-Ing. (FH) ET Axel Opp
Telephone: +49 651 999 393 0
Fax: +49 651 999 393 10
Email: mail@igo-technical.expert
Web: www.igo-technical.expert
Commercial register: Amtsgericht Wittlich, HRB 41010
VAT identification number: available on request
Technical Experts · Global is a trading style of IGO Ingenieurgesellschaft Opp mbH used for international engagements. All assignments, contracts and invoices are issued by, and all professional liability insurance is held in the name of, IGO Ingenieurgesellschaft Opp mbH.
Responsible for the content of this website pursuant to § 18 (2) German Interstate Media Treaty (MStV): Dipl.-Ing. (FH) ET Axel Opp, address as above.
Sworn and publicly appointed expert for electrical and electronic installations and systems, appointed by the Ministry of Justice of the Grand Duchy of Luxembourg. The professional title was conferred in Luxembourg.
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The controller for the processing of personal data on this website is IGO Ingenieurgesellschaft Opp mbH, Am Wissenschaftspark 16, D–54296 Trier, Germany. Managing director: Axel Opp. Email: mail@igo-technical.expert. Telephone: +49 651 999 393 0.
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Where engagements involve coordination with insurers, reinsurers, captives, courts or counsel located outside the European Economic Area, personal data may be transferred to those parties under appropriate safeguards (Art. 46 GDPR). Such transfers are limited to what is necessary for the engagement and are subject to professional confidentiality.
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Engagements are governed exclusively by the General Terms of Engagement of IGO Ingenieurgesellschaft Opp mbH in the version retrievable at the time the contract is concluded. By placing an instruction, or at the latest by accepting our services after these terms have been made available, the principal acknowledges that they apply.
§ 1 Scope and incorporation
These General Terms apply to all offers, instructions, expert reports, opinions, inspections, examinations, laboratory services, advisory work and other services rendered by IGO Ingenieurgesellschaft Opp mbH ("IGO") to undertakings, legal persons under public law and special funds under public law. Conflicting or deviating terms of the principal apply only if IGO has expressly agreed to them in text form. These terms are made available to the principal in text form, or by reference to a permanently retrievable internet address, prior to or at the time the contract is concluded. By placing the instruction, by confirmation in text form, or by accepting our services after these terms have been made available, the principal acknowledges that they apply. Individual agreements in a specific instruction take precedence, provided they have been expressly recorded in text form.
§ 2 Subject of the engagement
IGO renders its services as an independent and professionally non-directed expert firm to the best of its knowledge and conscience, in accordance with the recognised rules of engineering practice and within the scope of the engagement. Unless expressly agreed otherwise, what is owed is an expert service, not a particular economic, procedural or regulatory outcome. The specific scope of services follows from the instruction, the order confirmation, the offer or another agreement documented in text form.
§ 3 Duties of cooperation and disclosure
The principal shall provide IGO with all documents, information and facts relevant to the performance of the engagement completely, accurately and in good time. This includes plans, files, contracts, invoices, measurement data, operating data, prior-loss information, correspondence, photographs, supporting documents, access to objects and indications of hazardous areas, hazardous substances, contamination and other particular risks. The principal warrants that the information provided may be used and that no third-party rights stand against such use. Delays, additional expenditure or substantive limitations resulting from incomplete, late or incorrect information are not to the detriment of IGO; the resulting additional costs are borne by the principal.
§ 4 Performance
IGO is entitled to determine the manner of performance in the exercise of its proper professional discretion, save where expressly agreed otherwise. IGO may engage assistants, freelancers, external experts, testing laboratories and other third parties for the performance of the engagement, provided that legitimate confidentiality interests of the principal are not thereby impaired. IGO is not obliged to verify the completeness, plausibility or accuracy of facts, documents or information provided by the principal in the absence of specific cause, unless this is expressly part of the engagement. If additional examinations, measurements, site visits, laboratory analyses or further measures become necessary which exceed the original engagement, these are to be remunerated separately.
§ 5 Fees, expenses and payment
The remuneration of IGO follows the individual contractual agreement, the offer, the order confirmation, an agreed fee schedule or, in the absence of an express fee agreement, the rates applicable at IGO at the time of instruction. Remuneration is owed in particular for working time, travel time, waiting time, meeting time, preparation and follow-up, file review, evaluation, report drafting, photographic documentation, laboratory and testing services, and all other engagement-related work. Travel costs, accommodation, per diems, dispatch, third-party services, external laboratory costs, fees and other expenses are charged separately unless otherwise agreed. Multiple principals are jointly and severally liable. IGO is entitled to demand reasonable advances and to issue interim invoices in line with the state of progress. Invoices are due immediately, without deduction, unless otherwise agreed in the individual case.
§ 6 Subsequent recourse to IGO by courts, authorities and other bodies
If, after completion of the principal engagement, IGO or any employee, officer or vicarious agent appointed by IGO is subsequently called upon by a court, public prosecutor's office, authority, arbitral tribunal or other body in connection with the subject of the expert engagement — or in connection with the findings, assessments, examinations or statements obtained therein — as a witness, expert witness, informant or for the explanation, supplementation, defence or confirmation of engagement-related findings, such effort is deemed to have been occasioned by the original contractual relationship and is agreed to constitute a separately remunerated additional service. The principal is obliged to reimburse IGO for all time and costs arising therefrom at the rates agreed for the principal engagement. Covered are, in particular, file and document review, preparation, internal coordination, written statements, travel and waiting time, time at hearings, follow-up, travel, accommodation, ancillary costs and other expenses. Where no special rates have been agreed in the principal engagement, IGO's rates current at the time of instruction apply. Any reimbursement or compensation by the court fund or other third parties is credited against IGO's claim, but does not affect the principal's residual liability. This clause is a material remuneration provision and is automatically agreed upon instruction.
§ 7 Rights of use and purpose limitation
Reports, opinions, test reports, calculations, photographs, measurement data, drawings and other work product of IGO may be used by the principal solely for the purpose envisaged in the engagement. Any further exploitation, transfer, publication, reproduction in extract, advertising use or use in another proceeding or for another subject matter requires the prior consent of IGO in text form, unless its admissibility clearly follows from the contractual purpose. Copyright and other protective rights in the work product created by IGO remain with IGO, to the extent permitted by law.
§ 8 Confidentiality, data protection and use of anonymised insights
IGO observes the applicable data protection requirements and treats non-public engagement-related information as confidential. IGO is, however, entitled to use technical findings, damage mechanisms, test and measurement results, calculation approaches, methodological experience and other professional matters obtained in the course of an engagement for its own quality assurance, training, seminar, lecture, publication and continuing-education purposes, provided this is done exclusively in anonymised, abstracted form which cannot be traced back to natural persons, the principal, insureds, parties involved, specific objects, loss locations, file numbers, contract numbers or trade and business secrets, and provided that no mandatory statutory duty of confidentiality stands against it. The principal has no claim to the cessation of such anonymised and abstracted use.
§ 9 Termination and stoppage
The engagement may be terminated for cause in text form prior to full performance. For IGO, cause exists in particular where the principal fails to provide required cooperation despite request, fails to pay due advances or invoices, attempts to exert improper influence on the content or outcome of the expert work, or conceals material circumstances. In the event of termination or stoppage, IGO is entitled to remuneration for the services rendered up to that point and to reimbursement of expenses already incurred and unavoidable third-party costs.
§ 10 Liability
IGO is liable without limitation for intent and gross negligence, for damage arising from injury to life, body or health, and in all cases of mandatory statutory liability. For simple negligent breach of essential contractual obligations, IGO's liability is limited to the foreseeable damage typical for this type of contract, but in any event capped at EUR 25,000 per engagement. Essential contractual obligations are those whose performance is necessary to enable the proper execution of the contract and on whose performance the principal regularly relies. Liability for simple negligence is otherwise excluded. To the extent permitted by law, IGO is further not liable for indirect damage, consequential damage, loss of production, business interruption, lost profits, frustrated expenditure or pure economic loss arising from decisions of the principal or third parties taken on the basis of services rendered by IGO. Liability for the substantive accuracy of documents, data and information provided by the principal is excluded, unless IGO has expressly assumed the obligation to verify them.
§ 11 Limitation
To the extent permitted by law, claims of the principal against IGO arising from breach of duty become time-barred within one year from the statutory commencement of limitation. Excepted are claims based on intent, gross negligence, on injury to life, body or health, and claims for which the law mandatorily prescribes longer periods.
§ 12 Place of jurisdiction, governing law
The law of the Federal Republic of Germany applies exclusively, to the exclusion of the United Nations Convention on Contracts for the International Sale of Goods (CISG). Place of performance and, to the extent permitted by law, exclusive place of jurisdiction for all disputes arising out of or in connection with the contractual relationship is the registered seat of IGO.
§ 13 Severability
Should individual provisions of these terms be or become invalid in whole or in part, the validity of the remaining provisions remains unaffected. In place of the invalid provision, an effective provision is deemed agreed which comes closest to the economic purpose of the invalid provision. The same applies to any gaps requiring supplementation.