How Insurance company decide what is the value of your building insurance claim?

Filing a building insurance claim is simply the process of preparing and presenting facts and evidence. The key is in putting a high quality documentation together with the actual emphasis on the issues favourable to you. Rest assured that the insurance appointed loss Adjuster is always be there to protect the interest of insurer not the Policy holder.

Key Elements of Policy Holder Strategy

This is well established fact that not all people are treated equally by the insurance companies and some are even mistreated as well. It is therefore important for policy holder to maintain composure and manoeuvre in a position of strength to gain respect. So as Policy holder you must be treated by the other key players as a valuable and respected individual and here are some key tips to achieve this goal;

1.   You should be well dressed for every meeting with any key player;

2.   Be specific about what you want and do not compromise on what you are willing to accept until you get to the final phase of negotiation;

3.   Set all appointments around your schedule;

4.   Fully organise your claim file;

Loss Adjuster’s hidden Approach

Whether there is an independent or an insurance own employed staff adjuster, their game plan is to close your claim as quickly as possible, pay least amount of money but still make you feel satisfied. Here is Insurance Loss adjuster’s typical hidden agenda;

1. Gain the policy holder trust;
2.  Try to inspect and settle the claim before policy holder appoint any loss assessor;
3. Avoid agreeing to match colour of tiles when partially repairing or patching a roof or floor;
4. Only pay for a complete roof replacement if it is an obvious total loss;
5. Try not to pay for bent or dented metal items on the roof using the argument that the dents do not affect the functionality of the item;
6. Pay to clean or repair item instead of paying to replace;
7. Inspect as many claims per day as possible;
8. Pay the lowest amount; policy holder willing to accept;
9. If policy holder unwilling to accept the settlement, then try to compromise on some item
10. In a drive to push you to agree, introduce some insurance appointed contracting companies who are willing to work for lower rates.

  Loss Adjuster “official Price guide”

Every insurance loss Adjuster has an” official” price guide to use when estimating the cost to repair your damage. A price guide is created after an insurance company reaches an agreement with one or more contracting companies, who are willing to work at pre-determined rates. These companies then type up the agreed prices, photocopies and staples together a couple hundred copies and it becomes official guide.

To sum it up; there is no official price guide, it is an attempt by the insurance companies to simplify claims and control prices. So these prices should be called as useful guide but they shall never be classed as a final decree.

Don’t settle your home owner’s insurance claim for less than you entitle to!

From a practical standpoint, the insurance will pay what you are willing to accept if that figure meets the idea of the reasonable settlement. Here’s the catch, a reasonable settlement to the insurance company depends upon the company‘s claim settlement policy. The insurance company can be so light it squeaks or it can be liberal enough to keep the customer satisfied. So make it short, there is no magic amount, no magic formula you just need to know that a claim settlement is totally negotiable.

It always comes as a surprise to policyholders just how much their insurer expects them to do. From the offset an insurer will expect the policyholder to find their own contractors and collect multiple quotations for the repair works. But what they don’t want you to know is that it is unnecessary.

For a simpler claim journey call 07397672235 or email wakefield@concept-solutions.co.uk

Concept Building Solutions offer a 1 stop shop for claims management and building repairs.