Loss Adjusters, Assessors and Consultants
Who is who?
You are probably confused about the different variations of job titles in our industry so here’s a brief explanation.
Loss Adjusters are usually Chartered and fully qualified having achieved the highest accolade in claims being members of the Chartered Institute of Loss Adjusters. (CILA). They are typically appointed by Insurance companies to represent their best interest although they should (in theory) act independently and without bias.
Loss Assessors typically don’t hold any insurance qualifications. Despite not having qualifications, some are really good at what they do. However, the industry is tarnished by the majority who tend not to have the experience or professionalism to represent you despite being regulated by the Financial Conduct Authority (FCA). Some of these companies will find you after hearing about your claim via social media, news articles and in some cases, the emergency services.
Claim Consultants – We consider ourselves to be ‘Claim Consultants’ although you can still call us Loss Adjusters. We hold Chartered qualifications just like Loss Adjusters who work for insurance companies. However, we work for you! Our consultants have had years of experience handling claims for most of the UK’s leading Insurers and have had years of experience working on ‘both sides of the fence’. We specialise in representing Policyholders and have a thorough understanding of the industry, the claims process, terms and conditions of your insurance cover and are usually best placed to represent you.
Pitfalls
We recommend you do your research on the company that you appoint particularly firms which claim to be members of the Chartered Insurance Institute (CII) and Chartered Institute of Loss Adjusters (CILA). We regularly review our competitors and find many display credentials on their website when they have no meaningful affiliation in respect of that credential. We recommend you cross reference and verify that the firm you do appoint is suitably qualified. In particular ensure that the individual that will represent you is qualified and not merely being overseen or shadowed by a qualified individual.