Accidents are inevitable and when they do happen, the damage or loss suffered by your property can be quite extensive. However, when your home is under an insurance cover, you rest easy knowing the replacements or repairs will be taken care of by your insurer.

Conversely, lodging a claim for damages suffered by your property can be daunting particularly if your documents have gaps. And the worst scenario is when your insurance company rejects your claim on the basis of insufficient evidence.

More often than not, your insurance provider will engage a claims adjuster or loss assessor who will visit your damaged property for inspection. As professionals, they will assess the level of damage and give recommendations regarding any repairs and or replacements required to fix the property.  

While your insurer is bound to make their own damage assessment, it’s recommended that you also engage an independent property assessor to inspect your property’s damage and give a detailed inspection report.

The claims adjuster working for your insurer will certainly make conservative assessments and observations in order to avoid paying you above the required minimum coverage.

Why you need an Independent Damage Assessor

There are several reasons why you should consider hiring an independent damage assessor and inspector to evaluate the extent of damage to your property.

Perform inspections without prejudice

Any independent building inspector will be working for you and not the insurer; hence they have your best interests at heart. They will assess the damage to your property from all angles. Usually, your insurer’s damage assessor will want the best interests of their employer—your insurer. As such, they will generate reports in favour of your insurer. Engaging a qualified and trustworthy independent building inspector to handle your claims assessment process ensures a true and fair inspection report which reflects the exact status of your damaged property.

Duly Insured and protected

Man is to error they say and a building inspector is no exception. They can cause a mistake that could result in greater financial losses. Independent building inspectors take professional indemnity insurance that covers the costly errors or mistakes caused by the inspector. This indemnity insurance helps to protect and cover the policy holder against a misjudgment done by the inspector in the course of property inspection.  

In case the suggested repairs or replacements cause you more problems, your inspector’s insurer is expected to cover your property. Engaging an insured and licensed building inspector helps you rest easy knowing your property is safeguarded.

Approved and licensed builders.

Engaging independent building inspectors compels you to hire inspectors that are also qualified builders. Such inspectors boast a wide range of expertise in building codes or standards, ensuring that they are the most ideal for assessing your property.

In-house team of professionals

Your insurer is expected to have an assessor although they might not have a builder or an engineer to properly assess the rebuilds or repairs required. Queensland Independent building inspectors will always work closely with an engineer, architect or is an expert builder himself.

As such, the recommendations made in your reports will be reliable, coming from professionals. Thanks to their experience, you will also receive an accurate estimate of possible repairs and or replacements; hence you will get a true approximation of the expected cost.

A fair and detailed report.

Given that you’re working with an inspector who is independent of your insurer, you’ll have the assurance that the content in your inspection report is reliable. The independent building inspector of your choice will be thorough in his assessment and capture the extent of your property’s damages. The assessment will also include damage sustained by your exterior fixtures like sheds, decks, carport and garage.

The report will also include detailed recommendations of what is required to restore your home back to its initial state.

Since the insurance claims adjuster is hired by the insurer, he may not focus on ensuring your best interests. Using the claims adjuster’s report as their basis, the insurance provider may eventually compensate you way below what they should to fix the damage suffered by your property.

Insurance cover for your property

Your property’s insurance policy differs from one policy to another. However, below is the list of the common items in property insurance policies:

• Safeguarding against impact damage
• Safeguarding against fire and floods
• Cover against theft or burglary
• Protection against damage caused by catastrophic natural events
• Legal liability cover

It’s crucial to understand that insurance services or products are not similar. Hence, when choosing a policy for your property, pay attention the product descriptions as well as terms and conditions of the coverage.

What does an assessors report include?

Your insurance building inspection report mostly contains the following information:

• Roof space
• Roof exterior
• Your home’s exterior
• Your home’s interior
• Under-floor space

It will also include information about damage caused to the above sections of your home. The areas of inspection may include sheds, garage, toilet and carport.

Again, the report provides a review of the general condition of the property. The summary will also include recommended repairs and replacements and where they are needed. Through the detailed report, home owners can make needed repairs to enable them enhance their safety and strength of their property.

Note that your independent building inspector will be required to engage a licensed trade expert to inspect the following:

• Electrical wiring
• Solar panels and batteries
• The air conditioning system
• Plumbing and drainage systems
• Alarm systems
• The water system
• Fireplaces

Why choose Insurance Claims Group?

Insurance Claims Group is a team of claim consultants that boasts decades of years protecting the primary investments of their clients above and beyond expectations. From consultation, damage inspection to claims management, we deliver value and help our clients get the full cover of their claims and all that they are entitled to.

Contact us today for more information on our services.