Our Insurance Claims Expert - Trevor Kelly Answers FAQs

Insurance claims can be tricky to assess. Many claim types include secondary damage caused by  smoke or water. This kind of damage is often not obvious and can manifest itself long after the claim is settled and closed.

If you just suffered extensive damage to your home due to fire, flood, storm or some other peril, you are possibly traumatized and not thinking straight. This is not the best time to be left on your own, without professional representation. Dealing with a loss adjuster who is trying to minimise the payout, may just prove too stressful. Many policy holders settle for a smaller compensation just because they can’t deal with the insurance company.

ICS are claims experts. We know how to navigate the claim process and how to identify and present the damage to ensure full entitlement. To put it simply – it is in our interest to get you the best settlement possible as our fee depends on our performance.

A Loss Adjuster is a claims professional employed by your insurance company to investigate the claim, scrutinise the policy conditions and to adjust the claim pay-out in line with policy cover. The loss adjuster is paid by the insurance company and therefore works in the interests of the insurance company to minimise their losses.

A Loss Assessor works on behalf of “the policyholder” and we are experts in compiling, formulating and negotiating insurance claims. We specialise in navigating the claims process, protecting  the “policyholders” interest and ensuring that policy holders receive the best possible settlement terms.  A public loss assessor must be regulated by the central bank.

If your property or business has been damaged and you are considering making a claim, your first call should be to us. As we are claim experts working exclusively on behalf of you, the policy holder, it is critical to get the damage assessed independently, before your claim is presented to your insurers. We can carry out an immediate survey, document the damage, advise on damage limitation and notify your insurance company or broker.

Ideally, you should call a Public Loss Assessor as soon as you suffer a loss. The Loss Assessor can then ensure that the damage is correctly assessed, photographed and documented. Correct recording and documenting of the loss will help you ensure that you receive your full entitlement, and also reduce the risk of prejudicing your claim

Yes we certainly can, just one call to us and we will arrange to visit and survey asap. In addition to the property reinstatement, we can also help in the assessment of lost stock, increased cost of work, business interruption and trading losses.

We carry out a free no obligation first survey and we take your claim on a No Win- No Fee basis. We charge a small percentage of the final settlement, typically 10% + vat. Fees are agreed on a case by case basis, dependent on the size and the complexity of the loss.

On a standard, straightforward claim, it can generally take between 2-6 weeks to get the claim fully settled- ICS are fully committed to ensure that your claim is settled as efficiently as possible.

You should receive your cheque within 7-10 days following the agreement of settlement terms.

Our fee is due when you receive money from insurance company.

A detailed list of insurable perils is listed in your policy booklet. However you also need to consider a list of exclusions and special conditions, frequently buried in the small print. Call us and we can help you determine, free of charge, whether your claim will be successful.

You, the policyholder receives the payment directly from the insurance company. Loss assessors do not commute or handle the settlement funds.

Any claim made on the policy is likely to have an impact on your no claims bonus, each insurer will differ. It is important to weigh up the benefit of the claim and the potential impact. We can advise of the potential impact to your policy on an individual basis. The onus is on the policyholder to advise any future insurer of previous claims. See our article on Why a Small Insurance Claim Is Not Worth Filing.

Loss Assessors are independent and don’t directly complete the reinstatement works. However,  we do work closely with a large number of contractors, architects, engineers, surveyors and other construction professionals. We can assist with selection of contractors and recommendations and if required, project manage the repairs.

Your insurers probably applied the Average Clause. Read our article on How the Average Clause works.

Home insurance generally covers for “accidents”. Burst pipes and tanks after freezing, but often does not cover for gradual damage from small leaks that might be considered lack of maintenance. Give us a call and we can check your policy against the damage you have.

Burst pipes can be a financial headache for home owners. Fortunately, home insurance typically covers unexpected burst pipes and the water damage that results. However, generally you won’t be covered if the damage results from a slow leak that went unfixed for months.

A standard home owners insurance policy will cover water damage and roof leaks unless they’re the result of gross negligence on your part. Whether the roof leak is caused by a windstorm or a tree crashing through the roof tiles, you’re covered.

Saving a few Euro by under insuring your property can case a big problem if you need to make a claim.

Insurance companies apply a mechanism called The Average Clause and is calculated as follows.

• Let’s assume that Value at Risk of your house, as outlined by the Society of Charted Surveyors, is €300,000 (this depends on a number of factors)
• Your Sum Insured as specified in the Insurance Policy  is actually €200,000. You are therefore under insured by €100,000
• Let’s assume that a fire occurs and nearly half of your house is destroyed.
• As per builders quotes, to have it re-built/repaired it will cost you €120,000. You therefore file an insurance claim for €120,000
• Unfortunately, as the Sum Insured is only €200,000 instead of €300,000, the insurance company assumes that you are responsible for 33% of the risk on this property. They therefore are only liable to pay our 67% of the claim (this is the average clause)
• In result you lose €40,000, just because the property was under insured.

This also applies to the contents section of your policy.