Claims Adjustment
When an accident occurs involving an insured individual or property, many people assume the response of monetary compensation from the company providing coverage to be a given. However, the truth is that insurance agencies devote an overwhelming amount of their resources to the art of investigating whether or not the claims of damage are legitimate to begin with.
How it Happens
This process, known as claims adjustment, seeks to assess just how liable a company is to the policyholder through any number of investigative measures, including:
- Interviews of the claimants and any witnesses if applicable
- Consideration of official records, such as police and hospital documents
- Thorough inspection of the property in question
Specifics and Terminology
An individual in this line of work is known, straightforwardly enough, as a claims adjustor. These people are versed in a number of technical terms and procedures with which the average homeowner or other policyholder is generally unfamiliar, such as:
- Depreciation – the loss in value of an asset over time
- Replacement cost – how much someone would have to pay in order to replace a lost or damaged asset
- Actual cash value – a way of assessing the value of insured property based on subtracting depreciation from the replacement cost
Adjustment can obviously be a difficult issue if the adjuster and claimant disagree on the value of the item in question. Sometimes, a company will go so far as to accuse the property holder of insurance fraud, a serious allegation that maintains that the person essentially fabricated the damages or created them him or herself in order to recover on a policy.
Contact Us
For more information on claims adjustment and how it can affect your personal financial situation, contact the experienced Boca Raton bankruptcy lawyers at the offices of Eric N. Klein & Associates, P.A. today by calling 561-353-2800.
