The fundamental objective of a Risk Manager is to protect the safety of the workers, the assets and the Profit and Loss Account of their company and therefore, one of the things they must do, is to contract a suitable Policy to cover all of the company’s risks.
Risk Managers should be supported by a Broker who will help and advise them in the complicated task of designing the very best Policy for their company and who are the best Insurers and Reinsurers for their purposes.
In addition the Risk Manger must be involved in drawing up and updating the company’s emergency and contingency plans. These latter, also called “business continuity plans” are essential to minimise the Consequential Losses in the case of the occurrence of a loss event.
What should Risk Managers do in the case of a major loss event? In our opinion, with the help of their Broker, they should appoint a Loss Assessor who can help, on the one hand, to minimise the Consequential Losses and normalise the production of the company after the loss event and, on the other, to help them prepare and defend the claim that must be presented to the Insurers and their Loss Adjusters following the same.
Most claims are satisfactorily resolved with the help of the Brokers, but there are others that, given their size and complexity, require the support of Loss Assessors. They are experts in claims and have experience of dealing with emergency situations such as those that arise after a major loss event, especially when their cost can be assumed – either partially or entirely – by the Insurance Company under the “Fees of the Insured’s expert” clause that is ever more frequently being found in Policies, especially in those that cover large risks.
It is even more important to have the support of a Loss Assessor in the case of the loss event occurring in a facility far from the company’s headquarters, and moreover if it occurs in a plant situated overseas.
Am expert Loss Assessor will not only help the Insured to try to avoid any loss of sales, which might bring about the loss of clients, but also to get the Insurer to agree to “payments on account” to pay the costs of repairing the damage.
It has been demonstrated that presenting a well-documented and verifiable claim assists in the speedy and amicable closing of a claim and that is why the Loss Assessor appointed by the Risk Manager to act for the Insured has such an important role to play.
Vantevo, which is an international and independent consultancy, with professional engineers and economists who are experts in major claims, can help Risk Managers to “resolve” the claim in a fast and professional manner, after which they will find their position in the company to be strengthened, since they will have demonstrated the value of their work at a critical moment for the business, as would be the case if it were to be affected by a major loss event.
A claim that is well handled and swiftly resolved works to the benefit of all parties involved in the same: the Policyholders, the Insurers, the Brokers, the Experts as well as the Risk Managers.