An unbelievably destructive and sobering force of nature caused by an 8.8 magnitude (Richter Scale) earthquake occurred this Saturday morning in South Central Chile near the city of Concepción in Region VIII. This is the largest quake to strike since 1990 when a 9.1 magnitude quake off the Northern Coast of Sumatra rattled in 2004, killing 227,898 people.
Insurance claim damages are already estimated in excess of $2 billion dollars indicating another hard hit to the world’s largest property and casualty insurers. It is believed this quake will top Haiti’s losses due to the higher cost of construction and real estate in Chile. Losses have already been considered catastrophic for some property & casualty insurers this year.
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Most independent insurance adjusting offices utilize some very common practices upon acceptance of an assignment. The adjusting firm is usually required to make contact with some combination of insured, claimant(s) and or witnesses, if any.
For your typical “common loss peril” such as hail or wind it’s generally acceptable to handle the loss acceptance via email and the loss notification to the insured with a phone call. It seems perfectly normal that this is the standard for most every adjusting firm, but what about larger losses? What is acceptable to the client and their insured? What provides for an adequate amount of protection without sparking the insured’s interest in retaining counsel or a public adjuster? 
Though it’s the insured’s every right to have counsel, it is no secret that attorneys and public adjusters drive the claim dollar “through the roof”, and more often than not out of the adjuster’s hands.
Let’s get one thing straight out of the box here: If you have been assigned a file with an expected loss of $50,000 in the property & casualty or liability fields, and aren’t working under a third party administrator then you need to consider writing a claim acknowledgement letter to the parties involved, for the protection of the insured, your client and your own self. Read more…
