If you have ever needed to file a
claim for an insurance policy, you know how daunting the task
can be, even more so if the claim is the result of a home break
in, or burglary, both of which are growing trends in the urban
areas of the UK. There's the paperwork, the feeling that your
home has been violated, the loss of the sense of safety that
comes from having your home be secure.
You have to tally up what was
broken, deal with the carnage of someone breaking into your
belongings, all while in an emotionally fragile state. Then you
have to deal with an insurance claims adjustor, who often comes
across as having the ethics of a shark and a heart built out of
balance sheets. Fortunately, there is help to be had.
Morgan Clark is one example of
a category of firms dedicated to professional insurance claim
consulting. They act on behalf of policyholders, and know the
ins and outs of the relevant regulations and legal structures.
An insurance claim consulting firm is dedicated to giving you
advice shortly after the crisis, and act as the "small print
experts" on the minutia of your policy.
When you are bringing in an
insurance adjustment consultant, it's best to bring them in at
the outset of your claim. They can help you start the process,
and as (or more importantly), what you do and say at the
beginning of the claim can have significant impacts on its
processing and the final outcome. Because of these consequences,
it's clearly best all around that you get the specialised
knowledge of an insurance claims consultant in process and on
your side from the start.
Once an insurance claim
consultant is brought on board, your worries may be reduced, but
it's still your responsibility to ask questions. A good
consultant will be prepared for questions as the claim
progresses, will give you progress reports and will try to
explain what the consequences of various choices by you are. In
many cases, insurance companies are, while not lying, not always
telling the whole truth, leaving some details that can increase
your benefit, or reduce a rate in your premium, for you to
discover. Remember, the insurance company's primary goal isn't
customer service - it's to reduce the amount they have to pay
out on a particular claim, while meeting their contractual
obligations to the letter, if not the spirit.
In a typical insurance claim
adjustment consultancy arrangement, the firm you contract with
will provide a manager who becomes your single point of contact,
rather than a team of specialists. Their job is to handle the
interfacing with surveyors, contractors, solicitors and
adjusters so that you are free to go about your life and pick up
where you left off. Other elements that the consultant will do
for you include organising specialist repairs and flood and fire
restorations, getting you temporary accommodations, equipment
and vehicles, and setting up emergency funds. Their liaising
with the building contractors are there to help prevent cut
corners.
