Despite regular named storms, ongoing subsidence woes following 2018’s heatwave and property impacts such as fires, floods and escapes of water, one-in-five people in the northwest admit they would not know how to handle a home insurance claim.
Furthermore, 34% describe home insurance claims as a “hassle” and a quarter (26%) say getting three quotes from tradespeople is “almost impossible to do”. 14% have no time to handle a claim.
These findings come from a survey commissioned by Darwen-based loss assessing business, Aspray, which helps insured residential and commercial property owners take the ‘I’ out of claim. It represents them in claims scenarios, often negotiating with the insurer’s representative – the loss adjuster – and managing the claim from start to finish, or when disagreements between policyholder and insurer occur, or when a claim has been turned down and the policyholder wishes to contest the decision.
Despite the service’s availability, more than half of northwest consumers (51%) are unaware there need be no ‘I’ in claim. 48% do not understand what a loss assessor does and 14% are unaware they differ from loss adjusters.
46% believe the loss adjuster helps them get their full entitlement from their insurance policy, whereas, in many cases, the loss adjuster is actually representing the insurer’s interest in the claim and containing it, to keep costs down.
The confusion goes deeper. 14% believe a homeowner is not allowed to appoint their own claims expert. 23% say this is possible, but only in return for a commission payment.
“The truth is you do not have to handle a property claim alone and it need not cost you anything, other than the home insurance excess you must pay your insurer anyway. Taking the ‘I’ out of claim has real benefits,” says Aspray director, Andrea Loasby.
One benefit is that of escaping legal responsibility for worker safety. The 2013 Safety, Health and Welfare at Work (Construction) Regulations, expect home and property owners to determine contractors’ competencies and either appoint project supervisors, or become the supervisor responsible for safety. This responsibility applies across a range of reinstatement work typically required following property damage. Few consumers know this.
A second benefit is that of gaining a fair claims settlement, rather than compromising on your policy entitlement. A third is not having to get tradespeople’s quotes for comparison or taking time off to supervise them. Appointing Aspray and its vetted contractors means hassle is reduced, at no cost to the policyholder. They only pay the agreed insurer’s excess and can often have a £100 Aspray voucher to set against this.
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Andrea Loasby, says: “Given all the benefits, we have to question why more homeowners do not take the ‘I’ out of claim. Appointing a loss assessor means no shopping around for quotes, no poor-quality or untrustworthy tradespeople and no hanging on the telephone, trying to speak to an insurer. There is no need to have to learn insurance jargon, understand if a repair is sound, or lose sleep worrying about worker supervision. It makes sense to delegate.”
Aspray Limited is authorised and regulated by the Financial Conduct Authority and is entered on the Financial Services Register under reference 466101 for claims-handling only.
