There’s no difference between a loss adjuster and a loss assessor, is there? Aren’t loss adjusters sent out by your home insurance provider, when you need to make a claim, to visit you, note your losses at the scene and then ensure you gain everything that your home insurance, or commercial property insurance policy, says you should be given? Surely, both loss adjusters and loss assessors are on your side, during home insurance claims processes?
These are burning questions when it comes to home and commercial property insurance claims and how they are managed. In fact, they are such crucial questions for homeowners and commercial property owners nationwide, that Aspray, as an award-winning and leading loss assessor, has established how many people know the answers.
As an FCA-regulated and expert loss assessor, Aspray felt it important to commission its own survey of 1000 adults this month (February 2019), to establish the level of knowledge insured property or homeowners possess in relation to loss adjusters and home insurance claims. Having exclusive use of the research findings, we’re going to share some of them with you here.
- We discovered that nearly half of Brits (48%), admit to not knowing the difference between a loss adjuster and a loss assessor.
- A further 9% think there is no difference at all.
- More than half of women (56%) do not know the difference between loss adjusters and loss assessors. Amongst men, four-in-ten (40%) have no idea how their role in a home insurance claim, or commercial property insurance claim, differs.
- 42% of people believe a loss adjuster is sent out to make sure the insured property owner gets exactly what they are entitled to under the terms and conditions of their policy.
Loss Adjuster/Loss Assessor Knowledge by Age Group
You may well recognise your own level of knowledge above, especially if you are in a certain age group, or live in a particular part of the country, as Aspray found some big differences.
- 62% of people over the age of 65 believe that a loss adjuster is on the side of the insured homeowner or insured commercial property owner who wants to make a property insurance claim. 49% of this age group also feel there is no difference between a loss adjuster and a loss assessor.
- The age group that most believes there is no difference between the two is that of 55-64-year-olds (55%). In fact, almost half of all people over the age of 25 say they do not know the difference.
- Additionally, between one-in-twenty and one-in-every-ten people aged over 25 say there is no difference. Add that to the number who do not know the difference and it’s a very large proportion of people that are in the dark!
Loss Adjuster/Loss Assessor Knowledge by Region
- 64% of people in Northern Ireland believe loss adjusters are there to represent property owners’ best interests. The region least likely to believe this is the East Midlands, but it is still 32% of people there too.
- The region least aware of the difference between loss adjusters and loss assessors is Scotland (65%), followed by Northern Ireland (61%) and Wales (54%). This drops to 40% in London, but four-in-ten people there (40%) still do not know the difference between loss adjusters and loss assessors.
| Scotland | 65% |
| Northern Ireland | 61% |
| Wales | 54% |
| England | 51% |
- Topping the poll when it comes to believing there is no difference come people in East Anglia (15%), the North West (14%), Scotland (12%) and the East Midlands and London (10%).
The Home Insurance Claims Process
Aspray’s licensed research (only to be republished or used online with its express written permission) leaves its property claims management team with a clear indication that many Brits are extremely confused about loss adjusters and loss assessors and what their roles are. Here are some pointers:
- A loss adjuster represents the insurer. They visit you to ensure you can progress your claim, but are there to try to contain costs and the final pay-out, on behalf of their ‘employer’ – which is often the home insurance or property insurance company from which you bought your policy.
- A loss assessor, like Aspray, tries to balance the scales by assisting the insured policyholder who needs to make a home insurance or property insurance claim. A loss assessor battles for your rights, but to be in the ring with you, you need to appoint them. To do this, you can call Aspray – which has loss assessors nationwide – on 0800 077 6705.
- If you do not appoint your own loss assessor, you will have to deal with your home insurance claim, or the claim to cover losses at your commercial property, yourself. You will need to handle all negotiations with the loss adjuster and your insurer, provide all information required, make all phone calls, source quotes and tradesmen for the jobs required and oversee the workmen, perhaps taking time off work to do so. You will also have to make your own judgement on whether the repairs are being handled properly. If you appoint a loss assessor like Aspray, this burden is taken off your shoulders.
- Appointing Aspray as your loss assessor does not involve commission payments and need not result in fees. In fact, once you have paid the excess on your policy that is required by the insurer, you do not have to pay for the service at all, if you use Aspray’s vetted and approved, professional contractors to carry out the required schedule of works that will reinstate your property to its pre-loss condition.
The Difference a Loss Assessor Can Make
- Aspects in which the views of a loss adjuster and a loss assessor might differ could relate to scenarios such as how much water damage has affected the fabric of your property, your flooring or your electrical wiring. Similarly, a loss assessor might be found stressing how soot and smoke from a fire could have damaged the structure of the property, or perhaps corroded belongings such as TVs and DVD players. A loss adjuster may only consider cosmetic damage.
- Whilst a loss adjuster might want you to compromise when it comes to replacing items, perhaps expecting you to mix and match suites, kitchen units, furniture, or bathroom fixtures, a loss assessor will most likely take the view that this is not a satisfactory outcome for you and request that the entire suite or set has to be replaced.
- A loss adjuster may not be one phone call away when you have issues with your claim or need emotional support. A loss assessor, like Aspray, will be there on hand, to help.
- Think of the difference between a loss adjuster and a loss assessor like this. A loss assessor will strive to gain you a just settlement following home or commercial property damage from impacts such as flood, fire, escape of water, oil spillage, malicious damage by tenants, storm damage, vehicle collisions and situations such as subsidence. A loss adjuster will work towards arriving at an adjusted settlement, within which you may have been asked to compromise or accept something that you did not feel to be right, but in the absence of the required negotiating skills, could not argue against.
The home insurance claims moral
The moral of the story is to quickly understand the difference between loss adjusters and loss assessors and not be like the 9% of people nationally who feel there is no difference. If you were to talk to many of Aspray’s customers, they would tell you that the difference between not having a loss assessor on your side, and having one representing your best interests, is a huge one.
It typically not only achieves a better outcome for the insured, but also helps speed up the repair, replacement and reinstatement process, as there is no need to seek out tradesmen. The tradesmen who carry out the repairs are well-managed by Aspray and reliable, turning up when expected and determined to get you back in your home, or in the parts of the property that have been damaged, with as little delay as possible.
Should the customer prefer a cash settlement, then there will be a charge for the service Aspray provides.
If you now understand the need for a loss assessor, to handle your home insurance claim for you, please get in touch on 0800 077 6705 and remember to tell everyone else you know. We need to get the percentages down, so that more insured homeowners and property owners can get a fair deal via the insurance policy for which they have paid.