Insurance Investigators, Loss Adjusters and Risk Surveyors
Conduct investigations into insurance claims, assess damage and loss to insured property and businesses, estimate insurance costs, and inspect insured items and properties to evaluate conditions affecting underwriting standards.
A week of site visits
You are a loss adjuster at a small firm, visiting damaged properties, speaking to owners and reporting to insurers. It is Tuesday. You have three site visits across the region, a report due Friday and an owner who rang twice this morning already.
Choose what you would do. Then see what happens. There are often good reasons for each choice.
I need the full amount agreed today, in writing. Staff have no work and the bills keep coming. Just say yes and I will let you inspect whatever you like afterwards.
Agree to an amount now to ease his stress, and inspect later
The figure is too high, and you have promised more than the policy covers. The insurer is unhappy and Mr Okoro feels cheated when it has to be reduced.
Explain how the process works, what you need from him and when he can expect an answer
He does not like it, but he understands. The process takes a week. You were clear, though he still wanted an answer today.
Say what you can and cannot do today, and ask about an advance
He grudgingly accepts. The insurer approves a partial advance for staff costs, and he feels listened to. You gave him something real without overpromising.
I saw the owner move a lot of boxes out the back the night before the damage. I do not want to cause trouble, but I thought someone should know. You did not hear it from me.
Tell the insurer what Sam said as if it were a fact about the owner
A rumour is now treated as evidence. The owner is hurt, and the claim is delayed while it is checked. Information is not evidence until it is checked.
Note it, check it against records and ask the owner fairly
The boxes were an ordinary delivery. The owner is not accused, and the record shows the claim was checked. Careful investigation protects honest people too.
Ignore it, since it sounds like gossip from a neighbour with a grudge
It is probably nothing, but you have left a loose end. If it comes up later, you have no record that you looked at it.
The fire exit is blocked by pallets, but it is only for a day or two. The inspection is tomorrow, and I would rather you did not mention it. Can you be flexible?
Say you will leave it out of your report this time, just this once
The exit stays blocked and nothing is recorded. If anything happens, you have signed off on a hazard that you saw.
Tell her you must report it, but give her time to fix it first
She moves the pallets that afternoon, and the report records the exit as clear after a recheck. Honest and fair is possible together.
Report it exactly as you found it, without speaking to her first
The report is accurate, but Grace feels ambushed and becomes defensive about future visits. Telling her first could have fixed it faster.
How it went
On Friday the reports are sent and each owner knows where they stand. Loss adjusting is part detective, part negotiator and part calm voice in a hard week. Do you think you could be fair to both sides?
This is a simplified, fictional situation to help you explore. It is not professional instruction or a test of your ability.
Case study: The stock list that did not add up
A fictional case set in a loss adjusting firm that works with insurers after property damage.
The situation
Marcus, a loss adjuster, visited a small clothing shop after a burst pipe flooded the storeroom. The owner, Mrs Lindqvist, gave him a list of damaged stock. As he went through the room, the quantities on the list looked higher than the shelves could have held. Mrs Lindqvist was upset and watching him closely. Marcus could have cut the figures, or accepted them to avoid an argument.
What they did
He did neither. He told her calmly that he needed to understand the list better, and asked to see her order records and supplier invoices. He photographed the shelves and measured the space. Together they worked out that she had counted stock stored at her home as well, which she thought was covered. Marcus explained what was and was not covered and recorded the figures for the insurer.
How it turned out
The claim was paid on the stock that was actually in the shop. Mrs Lindqvist was relieved there had been no accusation and thanked him. Marcus had learned to ask for evidence early, and to say why.
What would you do?
- Why did Marcus not simply cut the figures?
- How would you ask a stressed person for proof without sounding like you do not believe them?
- What do you think the hardest part of this job is?