Home Loss Assessor - did you use one?

shoegal

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For a home insurance claim - in this case an oil leak under the house - should we use a Loss Assessor? we've never had any kind of claim before and so have no experience with something like this, we have contacted the insurance company who have appointed a Loss Adjuster, but other people are advising us to hire a "loss assessor"? rather than dealing with the insurance co/adjuster ourselves. It would appear that significant damage has been done to walls and floors and I would imagine will cost a lot to put right. Anyone been through something similar? Did you use a "loss Assessor"?
 
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Haven't used one but having seen what two friends went through with their claims if it does not cost too much it might be money well spent. Would imagine striking a rate beforehand would be best route.

Loss Adjuster made friend get report done at her cost on a faulty alarm knowing full well that they had no intention of paying the claim. Additional expense for nothing.

Another friend had oil stolen from his tank in holiday home and remaining oil was able to leak under the house and cause horrific damp and other problems during winter months. It cost a lot of money but as far as I am aware his insurance company did cover it.

This previous thread might give some advice and if you run the search option in this forum you may find others.
 
YesI did - upstairs apartment leaked into mine....well worth it - got three times the original settlement
 
I'd say it's a definite to use a Loss Adjuster. Insurance companies do not like paying claims. I know a situation where a claim occurred from a water leak in 2011. The property was destroyed completely. The Ins Co sent their Loss Adjuster when he offered €6k to settle the claim, which went to €20k. The persons concerned didn't want to use their own Loss Adjuster because of the cost. The claim rose to over €100k and they are unable to receive the final payment although the work has been completed.

So the cost of a Loss Adjuster normally works out approx 10% of the claim and they avoid any aggro as they will deal with the overall claim in entire. Well worth the money.

OP, you should be asking for recommendations for a Loss Adjuster. State where the claim actually is and you should get recommendations.
 
My father used one last year resulting from a flood in the house. The assessor was great in that he really worked hard with the insurance and got my father more than what he was expecting. His rate seemed high at the time but considering the payments and the swiftness of the work by the assessor it was well worth it.
 
I think you should use one.

Your case could involve large amount of money for an oil leak. I know a house in Northern Ireland that was demolished and ground decontaminated and rebuild because of an oil spill
 
Hello Everyone, thank you for your comments, I'll certainly think about using one -as per Dinny I think the damage is extensive and will be very costly to put right. Hi Mercman - I was told insurance companies appoint "loss adjusters" but claimants appoint "loss assessors"? perhps that's wrong. Thank you again.
 
OP, I think you will find that a Loss Assessor and a Lodd Adjuster do more or less the same thing in cases like this. Bottom line and well commented via the media is that Insurance companies do not at the moment like paying out claims. If you want a view, I do believe that it's money well spent.
 
If the claim is far from clearcut, then best to use one. Used one a couple of years ago (thanks to an aam'er who provided a recommendation) for a water leak. As the claim progressed, I was glad I had an assessor on the case - or otherwise would possibly have ended up with nothing due to the aggressive approach taken by the insurance company at the time.
 
Just for clarity for everyone as some of the above is confusing:

Loss Adjuster - Works for insurance company
Loss Assessor - Works for policy holder

(I can be clear on advise as I am a loss adjuster and also a regulated loss assessor),

You will find that the claim details will depend on the use or otherwise of a loss assessor. In some instances simply getting a few quotations for contractors will suffice but where a claim may be more complex (in the Op's instance I would believe they should as oil repair is a very specialist service) then a loss assessor (assuming properly qualified in the area of damage) will be of great benefit.

Unfortunately in Ireland a high % of the insurance professionals dealing in these matters for both sides are not fully qualified in building and insurance and this is why you will see so many positive and negative responses to insurance claim queries.

Be sure that any loss assessor you appoint is fully regulated (there is a list of those regulated on the central banks website) and also be sure that a proper oil decontamination survey is carried out by a specialist company. Oil can contaminate large portions of ground and a detailed excavation is required. You may also have to move out due to the air contamination and covering all these aspects is where a loss assessor should assist you.

I hope it works out well.
 
Hello Shoegal, I would recommend getting in touch with a loss assessor, I had a lot of problems regarding a claim a few years ago, It was to do with underpinning, To give you an example the ins companies loss adjuster told me we did not have a valid claim only to return after threatening legal action to say the work needed to be done, There was no change in the structural defects from the first visit and more to the point he never bothered to check, That is what your up against, I did hire a loss assessor and he was of no help, I received all the help I needed on this forum, As Kkelliher has suggested if you are looking for a L A then get one who is regulated, In retrospect it would have lifted the pressure off of me at the time.
 
Just to highlight one further point, if you appoint a loss assessor, you must pay their fee. You cannot claim the fee as part of the claim. A lot of people don't understand this and it can result in issues at a later stage. The fees range massively but would be between 8-15% PLUS VAT at 23% so keep it in mind
 
shoegal - I sustained a domestic oil spill myself (600 lts at least). My insurance company sent out all the "experts" to carry out tests. I have an ongoing issue with subsidence that the insurance company refused to cover and was about to get the engineers in to determine the cause when I discovered the oil spill. As a consequence of the oil spill and subsidence, the insurance company sent out a structural engineer. I have not hired an assessor yet as I am not sure if the insurance company will contract the work out to someone themselves and will pay them directly or if they will leave that to me. In the event I have to hire the contractors myself, I won't be accepting a cheque from them until I have a quote for remedial work. I may need an assessor if the amount the insurance company are offering is less than the contractor's quote and they refuse to cover it. Perhaps I am being a little naive or optimistic in assuming the insurance company will be fair in the matter and if I am, I hope someone will put me straight! Good luck with your claim.
 
shoegal - I sustained a domestic oil spill myself (600 lts at least). My insurance company sent out all the "experts" to carry out tests. I have an ongoing issue with subsidence that the insurance company refused to cover and was about to get the engineers in to determine the cause when I discovered the oil spill. As a consequence of the oil spill and subsidence, the insurance company sent out a structural engineer. I have not hired an assessor yet as I am not sure if the insurance company will contract the work out to someone themselves and will pay them directly or if they will leave that to me. In the event I have to hire the contractors myself, I won't be accepting a cheque from them until I have a quote for remedial work. I may need an assessor if the amount the insurance company are offering is less than the contractor's quote and they refuse to cover it. Perhaps I am being a little naive or optimistic in assuming the insurance company will be fair in the matter and if I am, I hope someone will put me straight! Good luck with your claim.
 
The customer protection code outlines that an insured is entitled to appoint their own regulated loss assessor to act on their behalf in the event that they have a claim under their policy. However, what should also be pointed out is that the policy does not extend to cover the cost of the loss assessors fees. Insured's should always bear in mind that in addition to the policy excess, they will have to meet the cost of the assessors fees. If the proposed Loss Assessor outlines that they will get enough in the settlement that will meet the cost of the repairs and cover their fees, then in reality the assessor is advising that they will get more than the policyholder is entitled to under the terms of the policy. Some may have a "so what" attitude to this, others may consider this to be downright dishonest.

In relation to Oil claims, these are very complex issues and few Loss Assessors have the necessary qualifications or experience to deal with these. Typically, when an oil spill occurs, Insurers, aware of the environmental aspects, will appoint an oil remediation expert who will assess the level of the contamination, draw up a proposal be it for in situ bio remediation or for cut and dump. In the event of building work being necessary, they will typically engage a consultant engineer to determine what building work is necessary. Once remediation has been completed, they will carry out further labatorary analysis of samples and certify that no residues above permissible levels remain. Their own enviromental scientist will then sign off and certify the work. In those instances, the use of a Loss Assessor is not usually warranted and indeed, in my experience, they spend much of their time trying to justify the fee they are going to charge their clients.

Whilst I do believe that Loss Assessors are generally not very useful in oil contamination cases, I am of the view that more and more, particularly in the current market, a good loss assessor can be of benefit to the policyholder in dealing with their claims. Insurers are tending to take particular views and interpretations on their policies which are not to the benefit of their policy holders. A good Loss Assessor wil recognise and successfully challenge these. I would always advise to use only a regulated Loss Assessor ( insurers will not deal with unregulated entities) and use people who have a professional qualification ( why pay 10% plus VAT for someone with no qualifications, when you can pay the same for someone for example who is a Chartered Surveyor with a recognised, rather than grandfathered insurance qualifications).
 
the customer protection code outlines that an insured is entitled to appoint their own regulated loss assessor to act on their behalf in the event that they have a claim under their policy. However, what should also be pointed out is that the policy does not extend to cover the cost of the loss assessors fees. Insured's should always bear in mind that in addition to the policy excess, they will have to meet the cost of the assessors fees. If the proposed loss assessor outlines that they will get enough in the settlement that will meet the cost of the repairs and cover their fees, then in reality the assessor is advising that they will get more than the policyholder is entitled to under the terms of the policy. Some may have a "so what" attitude to this, others may consider this to be downright dishonest.

In relation to oil claims, these are very complex issues and few loss assessors have the necessary qualifications or experience to deal with these. Typically, when an oil spill occurs, insurers, aware of the environmental aspects, will appoint an oil remediation expert who will assess the level of the contamination, draw up a proposal be it for in situ bio remediation or for cut and dump. In the event of building work being necessary, they will typically engage a consultant engineer to determine what building work is necessary. Once remediation has been completed, they will carry out further labatorary analysis of samples and certify that no residues above permissible levels remain. Their own enviromental scientist will then sign off and certify the work. In those instances, the use of a loss assessor is not usually warranted and indeed, in my experience, they spend much of their time trying to justify the fee they are going to charge their clients.

Whilst i do believe that loss assessors are generally not very useful in oil contamination cases, i am of the view that more and more, particularly in the current market, a good loss assessor can be of benefit to the policyholder in dealing with their claims. Insurers are tending to take particular views and interpretations on their policies which are not to the benefit of their policy holders. A good loss assessor wil recognise and successfully challenge these. I would always advise to use only a regulated loss assessor ( insurers will not deal with unregulated entities) and use people who have a professional qualification ( why pay 10% plus vat for someone with no qualifications, when you can pay the same for someone for example who is a chartered surveyor with a recognised, rather than grandfathered insurance qualifications).

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Hi

Sorry for jumping on this thread. I am just in a situation which I posted about a while back. Any help greatly appreciated.

Apartment with premier guarantee flooded 4.5 years ago when it was new, developer came in (since gone bust) and fixed everything or so we thought.

Noticed a dip in the hall floor, which has gradually got worse. Lifted floorboards and got a builder to look below found that all the wood and joists are rotting, water must have gone down and sit below floor (which we didn't know about how could we, flooring above was dry).

So that section wooden joists and structure needs to be repaired, but the bathroom which is beside that has dipped down a quarter inch from where it used to be in line with the tiles.

We had a loss assessor and mngt company look at this. Home insurance is out, and I'm told block insurance won't cover (which I don't understand as it emanates from outside our apartment the flat roof of the apartment above us).

So that leaves premier guarantee (OSG) to claim with.

Can anyone advise us is this our only option? This is causing so much stress, as we prob will have to foot the bill. I am so worried the bath will collapse or the flooring fully when we are on it, we are above another tenanted one bed apartment.

Can anyone help in what to do???? Please.
 
It's hard to understand that the block policy won't cover your claim. In relation to OSG you will need to be wide awake to go near them. You would be better off appointing your own Loss Adjuster in this case, as you are most likely covered, but your own Loss Adjuster will take the heat off the situation.
 
Thanks mercman, I don't understand it either. The management company said that it was due to the original flooding 4.5 years ago, but we didn't know the water got under the floorboards the floorboards were not wet so we didn't know. The damage never emanated from inside our apartment or from anything we did. How is it not the block insurance as its from a flat roof of another apartment above us??

They said the block insurance loss adjuster wouldnt go for it, I just don't get it.

On OSG do you think we should employ the loss assessor on our side to process the claim? Thanks for your help
 
Has anyone got any experience or legal advice on the position we are in and how to proceed.

Do I just go back to the Managment company and tell them this is a block insurance case/issue, as it came in from outside our apartment unbeknown to us, and is structrual and may effect the apartment below us, and the block in gernaral if it collapses? They got money from NAMA to fix the roofs in the blocks as they were faulty, and this is the reason our apartment flooded initially, and the same water at that time got down below the floor and sat on the wooden structure/joists in that section and rotted them.

Or do I employ a loss assessor on our behalf to approach premier guarantee/OSG with same as above, at the same time as approaching the managment company or if I get nowhere with them?

Any more help/advice i'd really appreciate it, thanks.
 
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