Claims assessors have vital role
- David Pine | NZIJ RISK MANAGEMENT LTD
One of our retailer clients has suffered the misfortune to have a fire in his premises. The claim process has brought into focus the importance of the claims assessor’s role.
Our client arrived at his shop, a mini supermarket, early on a recent Saturday morning to find that the main power switch inside the shop had turned itself off. This had happened in the past from time to time and so he thought nothing about switching the power back on.
A few seconds later there was a loud bang from underneath one of the fridges, followed by flames and then dense smoke. The fridge motor had caught fire!
Our client very quickly turned off the power to the fridge and called the fire brigade which, fortunately, was located only half a kilometre or so up the road.
By the time the brigade arrived the whole shop was filled with smoke. The shop owner had opened both front and back doors but it wasn’t until the firemen set up their large fans that they were able to clear the smoke.
Everything inside the shop was covered in a film of sooty grime – all the stock, all the shelving, the ceiling and even the walls.
The owner and his staff spent as much time as they could over the next few days, cleaning everything down.
Meantime the insurance assessor arranged for repairers to inspect the fridge and also the air conditioning unit located above the fridge. This had filled with smoke, as had the other air conditioners in the shop although they were not as badly affected.
After a lot of inspection and negotiation between the assessor, the shop owner and ourselves, it was decided to replace the fridge, as the cost of repair was unknown until the repairer had opened it up and was in all likelihood going to be almost as much as a new fridge. The air conditioners were dismantled and cleaned.
The claim was substantial as it included the new fridge, cleaning of the air con units, cleaning of the stock and shelving (the client was reimbursed for time lost), replacement of damaged stock from the fridge, loss of profit through the fridge being unavailable until the new one was installed, and repainting of some walls.
It was a complex claim and one where the insurance assessor was the main player. The assessor’s is a stressful role but one that is fundamental in servicing difficult claims.
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