Fire Insurance Claims And How Loss Assessors Can Help

Fire can rip through and destroy a building in a matter of minutes, annihilating everything it touches. If a fire rips through your work premises it can destroy your business, taking stock and the building with it – you have to ask yourself are prepared? You may have the insurance in place but are you ready for the follow up?

A disaster like this will be devastating, both financially and emotionally – you will be investing time and money into getting your business back on track and ensuring your staff are well looked after.

Although any business should have some forms of insurance in place you have to be aware of how it will all work when you put in a claim following a disaster or catastrophe like fire. You may be unaware that the insurance company will expect you to deal with the insurance claim yourself – do you have the knowledge and expertise to undertake this yourself? Will you be able to ensure that the business you have worked so hard to build up will get the payout that it deserves? Probably not, you will not have the knowledge and expertise - but you can be helped by a loss assessor.

Loss assessor is a term that is mentioned but often not understood. Many people think it is the same as a loss adjuster but there is a huge difference.

What is the difference between a loss adjuster and loss assessor?

• A loss adjuster will be appointed by the insurance company to ensure that they have to pay out the smallest amount of money possible – they are still running a business.
  
• A loss assessor, on the other hand, is employed by your business to act on your behalf. This means the loss assessor works for you and with your interests at heart, ensuring the best possible financial outcome for you and your business.

How will the loss assessor help me?

• The loss assessor deals with all the paperwork surrounding a fire insurance claim and will deal with the insurance company for you – giving you more time to concentrate on building your business and/or premises back up.
  
• The loss assessor will bring the experience of years of dealing with fire insurance claims to the table – experience that you are not likely to have. Combined with expert knowledge this will help make sure the financial payout following the fire will be adequate for helping your company move onwards and forwards following the catastrophe.

As the loss adjuster will be working in the interests of the insurance company dealing with your fire damage claim it is absolutely crucial that you have someone on your side fighting the cause for your business. It is important that you receive the compensation that your business is due.

Wayne Barker is the copywriter for Harris Balcombe, the foremost Loss Assessors and Claims Recovery Specialists in the UK. They specialise in business interruption insurance claims and fire insurance claims.