What is the difference between Insurance Brokers and Claims Consultants?

The Insurance broker will seek to provide professional advice with regard to placing Business with an Insurance Company. This advice will include the evaluation of the best policy cover and the sums Insured whilst at the same time seeking to obtain the best premium price within the market place.

He will also act for the Client in discussions with the insurer for all changes to the risk with regard to any mid-term differences in sums Insured, processes carried out, etc and will advise the Client on matters of security, risk management, etc. The broker is an expert in these fields and has the knowledge and experience required to carry out these duties.

But what happened when a loss occurs?

Very few brokers would admit to being claims experts stating instead that this is in itself a specialist sphere of the insurance industry. Sometimes it is not immediately evident if a claim is complicated or straightforward and if a client is not given immediate and specific advice regarding all aspects of the claim at the outset then this may have a prejudicial effect on the subsequent settlement.

Brokers do not have the requisite knowledge of general building practices, preparing a valuation of plant and machinery or correctly valuing stock and most do not have the required knowledge of case law to make a specific point to an insurer or loss adjuster, which can often lead to long delays in dealing with the claim, creating unnecessary inconvenience and causing lengthy business interruption.

Claims handling is a highly specialist fields and this is why an insurance claim should be referred to a specialist claims consultant in the same way that a general practitioner would refer a complicated medical problem to a specialist.