If you’ve been through the claims process before, chances are you’ve met a Loss Adjuster. Typically, they arrive when your mind is focused on other things, like trying to figure out what you’ve lost or calculating the estimated damage to your business.

Naturally, this makes it difficult to understand what their role is in relation to your claim, and whether or not they’re on your side. For this reason, we wanted to break down the duties of a Loss Adjuster, and explain their involvement in the claims process.

What is a Loss Adjuster?

According to the Chartered Institute of Loss Adjusters, their role is ‘to provide support and guidance in the event of an insurance claim’. Their services are usually only required when there’s a significantly large payout or frequent payouts.

While there are some cases where Loss Adjusters operate for the policyholder (provided they were the party who instructed them), more often than not, they’re firmly on the side of the insurer. Ultimately, they’re there to effectively test the validity of your claim and try to get the best deal for the insurance company.

Once instructed, a Loss Adjuster will visit your premises and investigate the nature of the claim. This can be frustrating as their findings could affect the end result. For this reason, it’s recommended that policyholders involve independent insurance specialists like us straight away.

How do they work?

If your claim is over a certain size, or it’s considered part of a pattern, your insurance company will hire a Loss Adjuster. They may be from an external organisation, so always be conscious of who you discuss the matter with. In some cases, however, Loss Adjusters can have full authority to settle the claim on the insurer’s behalf, meaning you could be shut out of negotiations completely.

Part of the Loss Adjuster’s role is to conduct research and check that all policy conditions have been met. They’ll interview you and other relevant members of the team to understand your version of events, then compile a report and make a decision. You may not be able to access the report afterwards, but you can ask the Loss Adjuster for their findings and challenge them through the appropriate channels if you disagree.

Understandably, this can be a long and intimidating process for policyholders. That’s why it’s best to have a representative like RiskBox to provide support, handle conversations and protect your interests.

Can this approach harm businesses?

Short answer? Yes. Loss Adjusters operate on behalf of a range of insurers, so aren’t always well versed in every insurer’s products or attitude towards claims. Their role is purely based on compliance and mitigating losses for their client, the insurer. This means they aren’t likely to sift through the positive nuances of your particular insurer’s coverage on intentions. This potential lack of expertise around the policy in question makes it difficult for policyholders to be certain that any recommendations made are the correct ones.

As a result, many rightly feel they’re treated unfairly by Loss Adjusters, who they believe work against them to discredit their claim. You only need to look at the Trustpilot reviews of some of the biggest firms to see policyholders’ frustration once a Loss Adjuster is brought in.

Yet the practice as a whole isn’t a force for evil. There are plenty of instances where Loss Adjusters accurately dispel claims that are clearly unreasonable and only seek to cheat the insurer. There are also some who are thoroughly professional, helping the client claim for more than they thought they were entitled to. But that doesn’t make it any easier for policyholders to access support that’s rightfully theirs.

Where does RiskBox come in?

Our approach is different. For starters, we’re in your corner. When a claim is being made, we ask all our clients to let us know in the first instance. This way, we can handle the entire relationship with the Loss Adjuster, including detailing your policy and explaining the nature of the case.

What’s more, where we can we avoid any insurers who use Loss Adjusters that we feel are either unethical or incompetent. This includes larger firms in the industry who we believe are not up to the task. Rather than saying they deliberately mislead policyholders, their lack of expertise gives us zero confidence in their competence, and subsequently that our clients will be treated fairly.

For those we do work with, we ensure that everything in their report is double-checked before going back to your insurer. In other words, we focus on your claim so that you can focus on restoring your business. It’s that simple.

How can I get in touch?

At RiskBox, we put your interests first. We excel in working with all parties involved in the claims process to secure a fair outcome. Currently, much of the world is experiencing an economic downturn, which typically means there are an increased number of claims, and at a higher value. As insurers try to protect themselves, they’ll continue to bring in Loss Adjusters, so it’s never been more important to have someone there to represent you.

If you’d like us to walk you through our Loss Adjuster process, or if you’re interested in arranging a watertight policy, call us today on 0161 533 0411 or email info@riskboxuk.com. You can also fill in our online contact form and we’ll get back to you.

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