Risk Engineering & Claims Advocacy

Risk Engineering

Risk Engineering services look at many aspects of your business and very often Insurers will pay for this work via a deduction from premium that you pay - it therefore does not need to cost a great deal and in many cases is essentially free of charge.

Usually the main areas considered include :

Identification and analysis of major physical risks

Measurement of identified threats by quantifying potential severity and probability of recurrence or relative frequency

Safety and risk management programme improvement

Scheduled visits to site to monitor and update on risk prevention recommendations, best safety and site practices

A good risk engineering programme will give confidence to Insurers and generally result in lower premium cost or improved terms compared to attention being paid in this area. In addition, if the risk of loss is minimised by a committment to a risk management programme then losses are less likely to occur or at least may be less severe and so this saves real cost for your business in terms of own risk retention (i.e. deductibles) and potentilly uninsured consequential losses.

Claims Advocacy

Claims Advocacy deals with preparation, management and settlement of a claim, usually a large or complex one where you need expertise to guide you through the process. While most claims are relatively straightfoward and are concluded without any problem, when the stakes are high in terms of size or if the claim is marginal as far as policy coverage is concerned, then having somone fighting in your corner can be invaluable. Usually the costs associated with retaining an experienced, independent claims consultant are recoverable under the policy (up to a certain level) and so do not need to actually cost you anything on a net basis as Insurers pay the fees along with the final claim.
The scope when managing a claim will usually include:

  • Preliminary site inspection.
  • Investigate causation of events.
  • Accompany on-site personnel to accommodate loss adjuster surveys.
  • Review and advise on loss mitigation measures.
  • Review and advise on prompt restoration options and reinstatement processes.
  • Negotiate with insurance broker, loss adjuster and insurers to agree on claim document requirements.
  • Review all claim documents before submission to insurance brokers, loss adjusters and insurers.
  • Arranging prompt settlement of advance payments to assist with any cash-flow needs.
  • Negotiate optimum claim settlements in a timely manner with insurance brokers, loss adjusters and insurers.
  • Together with the Risk Management Services provide post loss advice and recommendations to minimize recurring losses, and assist with the restoration and reinstatement process.