Public Loss Adjusters can help with business insurance claims

Business Insurance Claims Help

Public Loss Adjusters can help with commercial business claims Insurance claims for businesses are seen as complex, usually drawn-out procedures with some claims lasting multiple years. Public Loss Adjusters help ensure that this will not happen to your business.

A fire, flood, escape of water or any other damage that causes any type of business interruption to your commercial property can have disastrous consequences for your business. That is why you must be prepared and know the correct steps to take to protect your business.

The following information will help outline the main guidelines for dealing with business and commercial insurance claims. This information outlines the initial steps of checking the damage to finalising your business claim.

Business Disruption Is Kept To A Minimum

It is imperative that any insurance claims are settled and your property is repaired as soon as possible. Your business needs to resume normal operations! The longer your business is closed the more income you stand to lose. Public Loss Adjusters understand this and work with the urgency you require whilst maintaining complete professionalism.

Our business claim managers will help ensure you are back up and running in the shortest time possible. Not only can we offer our loss adjusting services at no cost to you*, but we will also keep the pressure on your insurers to make sure that there are no hold-ups with any ongoing commercial insurance claim.

As soon as we get approval from your insurer we can recommend one of our preferred nationwide building contractors. They will help to reinstate your commercial property and get you back in business.

Ensure The Insurance Policy Has Your Business Covered

In order to restore your property, you must have taken out an insurance policy prior to the event. You never know when fire, flood, or a different kind of damage will occur to your business.

Ensure your business is covered by insurance at the earliest opportunity. After paying your insurance premiums year after year it is now time to make a claim. Will your business insurance provider be so forthcoming now you need them to fulfil the services you’ve paid for?

The bad news is that without our help, you could have to endure a lengthy insurance claims process. All this is on top of trying to support yourself financially! Not to mention any of your employees that are relying on a wage to support their families.

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Business Insurance Claims Process

Your business insurance provider will appoint a loss-adjusting company to assess the situation on their behalf. More than likely, the appointed loss adjuster will tell you that they are separate and impartial to the insurance company. In reality, this may not be the case after all. Consider this, who is paying for their services?

How can an insurance-appointed loss adjuster be impartial when their fees are paid for by your insurer? After a loss adjuster has been appointed your insurer may present you with an offer which they believe is reasonable.

However, what they think is reasonable may be a long way off the financial settlement your business considers to be acceptable. It may not be enough to cover your losses and repair your property to its pre-loss condition.

We Put Your Business Interests First

Did you know that you have the right to employ an independent loss adjuster to manage your business claim? These independent loss adjusters will be working to protect your interests rather than your insurers.

Public Loss Adjusters have a wealth of experience with commercial insurance claims management. It is our goal to ensure that you receive your FULL ENTITLEMENT.

As Loss Adjusters and insurance claim handlers, our main objective is to work for your best interests entirely. Our team of specialists are all professionally accredited in negotiating with insurance companies. We are thoroughly confident that we will get YOU the settlement that you are fully entitled to. Our job is to negotiate the best possible settlement. Public Loss Adjusters can represent your business during the whole process of the claim. This takes away the stress you are having to endure.

For Free Insurance Claim Help Call Our Team Now On 08000 434 999 | 03337 333 999

Step By Step Guide To Managing a Commercial Insurance Claim

When a business suffers from a fire, flood or any other insured event, the immediate results can be disastrous. If you had to submit an insurance claim, would you know what to expect from your insurer?

Or know what other help is available? Public Loss Adjusters have produced this helpful guide to manage your commercial insurance claim. If you’re unfortunate enough to be in this situation, we can help. Our Loss Adjusters are happy to manage your business insurance claim on your behalf should you need us.

Always Plan Ahead in Case You Do Have To Make a Claim For Your Business

First of all, nobody ever expects to be put in this situation but it does happen to many businesses! When you receive your insurance documents, store them in a safe and secure location off-site. Most insurance companies will email your insurance policy over to you.

They will also provide an online portal where you can log in for quick access. If this is the case, make sure you save the email that links to this portal. This will prove invaluable during the insurance claim process. Access to these files will allow your appointed loss adjuster to cover all of your insurance entitlements within your policy.

Make sure you know all the important contact numbers for your insurance company just in case you have to submit a claim. You may also want to keep a record of any out-of-hours contact numbers as well. The best way to do this is by storing them on your mobile phone. Ensure that your policy is up to date with your current business needs.

Keep in mind that your needs may change as your business grows! Ask yourself if you are still fully covered with every change your business makes. Be sure to check your insurance policy. It is better to ask your insurer if you need to change your policy or not. The last thing you need is to find out that your claim is invalid. You may not be covered because your insurance policy is outdated! If you regularly change your insurance provider make sure their contact details are up to date.

When you take out a new policy ensure you are not underinsured if disaster does strike. You must ensure your insurance allows for a reasonable settlement that will be enough for full restoration.

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Address Safety Concerns

After the incident, you are responsible to ensure that your business is secure. This will help to prevent further damage, vandalism or theft. You will need to ensure that the property is safe to enter and any immediate dangers are dealt with.

We can help you by suggesting local builders to carry out emergency repair work for your business. This work will be reimbursed after the insurance claim is settled.

Identifying Damaged Contents

Your insurer may want to examine all damaged items associated with the claim. Keep an inventory of all the contents of the building and take photos of everything including stock. If you haven’t kept an up-to-date inventory find evidence of all items not listed on the contents page.

Some items may be repairable while other items may be cheaper to just replace. This is all dependent on repair costs and damage dealt with each item. Remember to not dispose of any items in and around the property unless you are instructed to do so.

Communication is the Key

In the first instance, you should inform your insurance company, even if it is out of hours. If your place of business is rented, you will need to inform your landlord. This is due to the fact that they will also have to get in touch with their own insurers.

Make sure that you inform anyone related to the business of the current situation. This may include customers, staff, suppliers or even other neighbouring businesses. If you are providing services to customers, reassure them that you can still provide services that are contracted to. If you cannot provide these services explain your situation and let them know as soon as possible.

Know Your Rights Regarding Insurance Claims Management Services

Your insurer will appoint a loss adjuster to provide them with a full assessment of the damage and their potential liability. After evaluating the damage the loss adjuster will then report back to your insurer with recommendations for liability. They will advise on how to move forward with the claim.

Your insurer may appoint a forensic expert who will investigate the cause of the peril. During what could be a lengthy process, you could be waiting months to discover if liability will be accepted.

The loss adjuster provided will be employed directly or indirectly by your insurance company. In other words, they will be working for them. If you aren’t happy or are unsure of the loss adjusters findings there may not be much room for negotiations. Additionally, you probably won’t be experienced enough to know the best course of action to go forward.

You Have The Right To Appoint Your Own Loss Adjusters

Many people do not realise that they are perfectly entitled to appoint their own representatives to work on their behalf. This representation is in the form of an independent loss-adjusting company. They have the experience to negotiate with your insurer on your behalf.

Think about it, your very own loss adjusters will be there to help answer any questions or concerns you may have regarding your insurance claim. Your loss adjuster will be able to go back and forth to your insurer and scrutinise every decision they make.

They will be able to manage the whole claim for you and negotiate the settlement that you are entitled to. Your representative will be able to keep on top of the claim. They will be providing your insurer with all the necessary information they require. In many cases, this can dramatically reduce the time of the claim settlement period.

Business Interruption, Mitigation and Interim Payments

At this stage, your insurer will expect you to do everything you can to mitigate your losses and continue trading.

The insurance claims process may have begun but you may be under tremendous pressure to keep your business afloat. As a business owner, you will still have your day-to-day responsibilities to your customer, suppliers, and staff.

If your business has had to temporarily close the main aim will be to limit the business disruption. You will need to get up and running as soon as possible. During this time, you may have very little cash flow, if any at all. Settling your claim quickly is a high priority. At this point, you should also have provided any relevant accounts to your claims manager in order to calculate the business interruption aspect of the claim.

Once liability has been accepted there still may be some way to go before your claim is fully settled. Appointing your own insurance claims management company it will speed up the whole claims process. In many cases, they may even be able to negotiate a much-needed interim payment to keep you afloat. This could help whilst your claim is ongoing.

This may help you to replace important items needed to keep your business running such as machinery and equipment. You may also need help claiming for loss of income if covered within your insurance policy.

Your own appointed loss adjuster may also help you find alternative business premises whilst your claim is ongoing. Appointing your own loss adjuster gives you access to assistance and advice. This will help with many of the problems that you will come across.

Aspects We Cover

Commercial & Domestic

Appointing a Chartered Surveyor

Once liability has been accepted, insurers will appoint a chartered surveyor to provide a detailed scope of work. If you do not own your business premises, this may be dealt with through your landlord.

If this is the case ensure you are kept up to date on all new information. An independently appointed loss adjuster can approach your insurer to appoint your own independent chartered surveyor too. This can be done to gain an independent scope of costs, and not be influenced by the insurance company. Generally, your insurer will agree to cover your independent surveyor’s costs if you have a valid insurance claim.

Settling An Insurance Claim

Your insurer should now be aware of the costs needed to proceed with your claim:

The estimated costs to fully repair the damage to the building including fixtures and fittings
The costs to replace or repair machinery and other trade contents
The costs to replace any stock that has perished
A prediction of business interruption costs

With a larger claim, the next stage would be for the appointed surveyor to put the building works out to tender. With medium-sized to smaller claims, insurers will regularly ask the policyholder to take on this responsibility.

Generally, you would need a couple of building contractors to submit an estimate for the costs of repair work. A company recommended by your insurer may only be working to rates set by your insurer. These insurance rates may not cover the repair costs to its pre-loss standard.

Finding Professional Building Contractors

If you’ve been asked to find your own contractors, any company you contact must be capable of carrying out work. Repairing a property that has suffered water or fire damage can run into complications.

You will need someone of a more specialist nature. It will prove invaluable if a specialist company who are expert in fire and flood restoration are appointed. At Public Loss Adjusters, we only recommend specialist building companies.

This is to ensure the works are carried out to the highest standard available within the scope of the costs. Based on the building estimates submitted, you can now decide on who to appoint to carry out the restoration work.

A timescale will then be agreed upon for the work to be completed. This will also give your insurer a better idea of estimating the business interruption part of your claim.

Getting Back to Business

As soon as the building work is complete, you should be prepared to open as a fully operational business again. Most of your claim will now be settled. However, the business interruption part of the claim could still be awaiting completion. This may not be complete until you are operational to the level seen before the incident occurred.

Why Choose Public Loss Adjusters?

Public Loss Adjusters will manage your claim on your behalf and be available every step of the way. Once appointed, we will manage all insurance negotiations and keep you up to date at all times.

You will have your very own claims manager. This manager will always be available to answer any questions you may have throughout the whole process. Our job is to ensure that you receive a full and fair settlement.

If you would like to see the real difference between an insurer-led claim and a Public Loss Adjusters claim please click here. To find out how we can help with your insurance claim call us now on 08000 434 999 or ask a question through our contact us page. Don’t settle for less!

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Customer Testimonials

Mike

Absolutely the right thing to do - Get these guy's involved in your claim. I was amazed at how proficient and professional they were. They handle everything for you and advise you every step of the way.

Paul

Amazing, fantastic! I cannot really express my gratitude to Glenn and the company enough. Trust me, I never really write reviews but if you instruct a PLA and are lucky enough to get Glenn it will be best money you have ever spent.

Brian

Michael Williamson was absolutely fantastic when I initially contacted PLA. He ensured my claim was paid to me in full. He was instrumental in getting my claim looked at properly by the insurers agent at Sedgwick. My gratitude to you Michael. Would award more than 5 stars for your help in a difficult claim.

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