ADJUSTERSINTERNATIONAL.COM 7 expense coverage can provide a program to help save a business by allowing it to make critical expenditures outside the usual areas of indemnity. Be careful when using existing raw material inventories to make up production. Its full effect may not be felt until after the claim’s indemnity period. Be sure to track the increased cost of operations during a postloss recovery period. It will eventually affect the “bottom line.” Know the players. Understand what staff adjusters, independent adjusters and their forensic accountants are. They will be working for your insurance company — and you can be sure they will understand their roles. Know what your broker’s role will be throughout the claim process. Understand your own duties and requirements under the policy contract. For example, it’s your responsibility to file and support your claim. You should present your own claim— the insurance company’s experts should not do it for you. Take a proactive approach, not a reactive one. Hire your own experts to prepare your claim, and do not rely solely on historical records. Consider employing a property loss consultant to work on your behalf. Management should concentrate on saving the business, not the details of preparing claims. Leave that to the experts. Realize that your claim must be verified. It will be audited by the insurance company’s adjusters and/ or accountants — so prepare accordingly. Be comprehensive and detail-oriented. Don’t expect your insurance company to immediately write a check for your claim just because you believe that’s what you’re entitled to receive. Work with the insurance company’s representatives to agree in as many areas as possible early in the process. Try not to polarize. That will only lead to two widely separated ideas of what the loss amounts to, making subsequent negotiations more difficult. Try to agree on the general scope of the loss early on. Find as much common ground as possible. Request advance payments from the insurance company to ease your firm’s financial burden. Your carrier doesn’t have to perform this service, but most insurance companies will. It helps the recovery process when you are not operating from a position of financial weakness. Postloss Considerations • Notify your broker of the loss. • Understand your duties and requirements under the policy contract. • Protect the property from further damage and mitigate your losses. • Assess the scope of damage. • Establish a loss management team with a designated leader. • Activate a postloss business plan to protect your market. • Prepare a public relations program to protect your market position. • Document your activities on a log and maintain accurate records. • Make decisions that are best for the survival of your business. • Hire your own experts to prepare your claim, and do not rely solely on historical records. • Realize that your claim must be verified.
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