Providing advice on the type, and amount of appropriate insurance cover for households and businesses.

A vast proportion of insurance policies available are based on sums insured elected by the policyholder.More than half of these policyholders have some form of underinsurance.Underinsurance is another phrase for inadequate insurance cover.This often occurs as traditional index linking methods attached to policies can fail to adequately reflect the rising cost of replacement items , or fail to match the increasing cost of building repairs over the term of the insurance .Also of course, where the insurance cover has been set at too low a level in the first place, then no amount of index linking over the duration of the insurance policy is likely to correct the error.

It is vital to understand that irrespective of the size of the loss in relation to the amount of cover available, underinsurance can still result in insurers refusing to deal with a claim whatsoever, or it may allow insurers to severely restrict the amount they are liable to pay in settlement of a claim. In other words, even if the value of the claim is less than the overall sums insured, then dependant on policy wordings, insurers can still seek to reduce the amount paid in recompense.

In recent years many insurers have begun to offer insurance policies with unlimited sums insured or automatic cover up to a certain level. However many policyholders fail to realise that within the sums offered there are limits for categories of items such as high risk jewellery and valuables and these policies may thus still be grossly inadequate for many policyholders needs, particularly high net worth individuals and businesses.

More than 90% of the population of the UK have household insurance. The average family spend well in excess of £1000 on home insurance premiums every year but about a third of people have no knowledge of the extent of cover that they have in place. The Claims Consultancy based in London, but with national coverage, offer a bespoke Insurance risk appraisal service. The Claims Consultancy Loss Assessors are experts in undertaking risk appraisals whether this be on a domestic house or commercial building and contents including fixtures and fittings, machinery and stock; the insurance valuation and assessment service we provide includes a site survey and will help policyholders ensure they have both the right type and sufficient cover to protect their property and belongings from unforseen loss.

For high net worth households with fine and contemporary art collections where appropriate we have an established network of specialist valuers to assist in providing appraisals.

Insurers have different methods of approaching underinsurance; some will forfeit rights of reinstatement and reduce the claim to reflect the age of the damage item, or others will apply a percentage reduction often termed in the industry as "insurance average". Most policyholders only learn of this after the event, when it is often too late. However there are certain situations where insurers will overlook underinsurance or give a policyholder some leeway as far as underinsurance is concerned. Acting as your loss assessor The Claims Consultancy Risk Appraisers are aware of these concessions offered by insurers, and as your consultant we will advise you in these areas of underinsurance and provide help and guidance in the presentation of your claim to ensure that insurers look upon your case with leniancy and in the most favourable light. The Claims Consultancy, acting as your independant insurance valuer, will also ensure that any valuations insurers use to calculate the degree of underinsurance are fair.

Surprising though it may seem, over insurance is not uncommon and can affect 1 in 5 building policies in the UK. This anomaly arises as people wrongly assume the insurance rebuilding cost of a property is the same as the market value, whereas in fact, particularly in London, the market value of a property can be far higher than the cost of just rebuilding the structure itself. The market value relates to the price somebody is prepared to pay for the property on the open market including the valuable land. However the land itself is not insured by standard building policies. This over insurance will result in unnecessarily high premiums and wasted cover as with any Insurance policy you cannot recover more than your loss.

To be fully protected from risk, to have the peace of mind of knowing you have the appropriate level of insurnace cover in place, and to be properly compensated from your policies of Insurance it is essential that you engage the services of your own Loss Assessor and Insurance Risk Appraiser.

Ensure you benefit from of our 25 years of risk appraisal and claims handling experience.
Call The Claims Consultancy Loss Assessors now! 07970 380 111