If you’ve had dealings with the insurance industry, you’ll know about loss adjusters. They are the dark knights, working for the insurers, trying to find a way to give you as little money as possible. Unlike you, loss adjusters deal with insurance claims everyday. Therefore, the details, the wording and the interpretation of insurance law is second nature to them They deploy this mastery, in as cunning a way as possible, to get your claim down to the minimum amount.
This they do in two ways. First of all, by turning your lack of knowledge in their favour; since the legalities are difficult to comprehend, you are often unaware of the things for which you can claim. Secondly, the adjuster has multiple tricks up his sleeve in the form of legal loopholes which ensure his bosses don’t have to pay out. Mrs S, a landlady whose house was ripped apart by tenants who had converted it to a cannabis farm, was dismayed when her insurance company tried to ‘hide behind small print to reject my claim’. They argued that the grotesque disfigurement to the property was not ‘malicious in nature’.
Loss adjusters exist to make money for insurance companies. For large claims, especially relating to business insurance, many thousands of pounds will be saved through their efforts.
Fortunately, if you’re making a claim then the means to counteract these forces exists in the form of the loss assessor:
an insurance expert who works for you. Unlike you, a loss assessor has the legal and technical knowledge necessary to confront the loss adjuster, giving you the protection you need when you’re in a position of (often extreme) weakness. Furthermore, the assessors are often able to use their expertise to identify other things for which you can claim, things that you would probably have overlooked. Thus, the fee the loss assessor charges is almost always absorbed by the increase in the payout he or she will secure for you.
Mrs S was fortunate to employ Ray Truman of Truman Associates, a leading figure in the world of loss assessment. Truman successfully cited a clause in the contract relating to vandalism and the underwriters were forced to meet the entire £49,000 claim. Ray Truman worked doggedly and with passion to fight on my behalf’ commends Mrs S. ‘Thank goodness for Ray and his determination never to give up.’ It seems that loss assessors truly are the White Knights of the insurance game.