Loss Assessors vs Loss Adjusters: What’s the Difference?

The insurance world is awash with jargon that can be confusing, or in some cases, downright misleading. Loss adjusters and loss assessors, for example, are easily confused. In fact, we’re often contacted by people who think they need loss adjusters, when actually, they need loss assessors.

So What’s the Difference?

Simply put, loss adjusters work for your insurance company and their interests, while loss assessors work for the policyholder and solely for your benefit.

But what does each one do? Let’s take a look.

What Does a Loss Adjuster Do?

Insurance companies are generally reluctant to pay out large settlements to policyholders. They might therefore call upon a loss adjuster to investigate your case.

A loss adjuster is a claims specialist appointed and paid by an insurance company to investigate a complex or contentious claim on their behalf. They are responsible for establishing the cause of a loss and to determine whether it is covered by your insurance policy. They will therefore visit the site of the loss in order to gather evidence and assess damage. In some cases, your insurance company may even hire private and forensic investigators to work on their behalf. These investigators are more often than not completely unregulated, and they will go out of their way to discredit your claim.

They will then present the insurance company with a report, recommending appropriate payment based on their perceived validity of the claim. Essentially, they review your claim from the insurance company’s perspective.

Because they are in the pay of insurance companies, loss adjusters might actively work to secure the lowest possible settlement. They are ostensibly hired to find evidence that could negate your claim. For that reason, it is important to have a qualified loss assessor fighting your corner.

They are not appointed to advise you on the best way for you to make a claim – they only look at the incident in the context of your policy cover, and the remit they have with your insurer.

They will not help you if you want to dispute a settlement offer – the onus is on you to prove you are entitled to more than the offer recommended to your insurer by the loss adjuster.

In some cases, it might feel as though loss adjusters are actively working against your best interests. But if you appoint a loss assessor, they will fight your corner and expertly negotiate your claim on your behalf.

It pays to appoint them as early in the claim as you can. If you appoint a loss assessor after the loss adjuster’s report has been submitted, it can be very difficult to challenge their decision.

What Does a Loss Assessor Do?

Loss Assessors are appointed by policyholders to manage a claim on their behalf. They can be called on to help with all manner of loss-related insurance claims. Perhaps your business or property has been damaged by fire, flood, storms or subsidence. Or perhaps theft has robbed you of the irreplaceable.

A qualified Harris Balcombe loss assessor will handle every aspect of your claim process. They will help with every stage of your claim, from the paperwork to the more practical aspects. They will meet with insurance company representatives, or their appointed loss adjusters, in order to negotiate the best possible claim settlement for you.

• They’re excellent negotiators and experts when it comes to policy terms and conditions.
• They know how to properly quantify claims to ensure that you claim for an accurate and realistic amount.
• They have a thorough understanding of how the insurance company claims department work.
• They strive to obtain interim payments when you need them.
• They never work for insurance companies, and they are the only parties in the entire claims process who can be trusted to act entirely on your behalf.

A loss assessor can also be called upon to assist in cases where an insurance company has declined a claim, or where settlements have been otherwise delayed.

When to Appoint a Loss Assessor

Many people make the mistake of only appointing loss assessors when they need them – that’s to say, when things go wrong. The reality is that unfortunately, things can and often do go wrong during the insurance claims process.

For best results, it is vital that you enlist the services of a loss assessor as early as possible – ideally as soon as you know you’ve got an insurance claim on your hands.

Through appointing our loss assessors as early as you possibly can, not only will you increase your chances of making a successful claim, you will also free yourself from dealing with your insurers. This will enable you to get on with your life, and with recovery, as soon as possible.

However, if you wait until things go wrong before you appoint a loss assessor, it won’t be as easy for us to prepare and present a successful claim. We can’t stress this enough – for best results, you must appoint a loss assessor the moment you realise that you have to submit a claim.

Why Choose a Harris Balcombe Loss Assessor?

Harris Balcombe is the oldest and most respected claims recovery specialist in the UK. Having helped thousands of clients receive the settlements they deserve, time has taught us that preparing and presenting a claim is just as important as negotiating and settling a claim.

We only recruit loss assessors who pass our rigorous training programme. As a result, you can rest assured that not only will your loss assessor possess a full understanding of your policy’s terms and conditions, they’ll also be able to accurately quantify your claim while effectively negotiating on your behalf.

In this way, you stand the best chance of receiving precisely the settlement to which you’re entitled.

How Can We Help You?

A loss assessor is the only party in the insurance claims process who can be trusted to work entirely with your best interests in mind. If you enlist our services as early in the process as possible, we can manage every aspect of your claim.

As part of our comprehensive service, we can:

• Secure your property, organising emergency works and arranging for alternative accommodation where necessary.
• Prepare, present, and negotiate your entire claim.
• Identify the full extent of the damage, and all matters relating to both buildings and contents.
• Coordinate your insurer and your loss adjusters, ensuring that you receive the full amount to which you are entitled.
• Help you to appoint specialist surveyors and contractors, and supervising their work through to the conclusion of the project.

For more information about the distinction between loss assessors and loss adjusters, or to take advantage of our free consultation service, call our 24/7 national helpline on 0330 022 9179.