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October 21, 2010

What Is The Difference Between Loss Assessors and Loss Adjusters?

Don’t panic this isn’t some sort of poor financial or insurance related joke, more of an article to address the common misconception that insurance loss assessors and loss adjusters are one and the same. I always thought this was a paranoid feeling that we in the claims recovery business have, but it turns out that it extends into the wider world. So in this article I intend to look at the fundamental differences between insurance loss assessors and loss adjuster and hopefully help people to understand these differences – indeed you or your business may one day need the assistance of a insurance loss assessor and understanding their role in insurance claims can mean the difference between your business perishing and your business surviving.

If you are the victim of some kind of disaster either on a personal level at your home or at your business – a disaster such as fire, flood, and theft, water damage from damaged pipes or more extreme cases such as gas explosions or a hurricane – you will need to be aware of the difference between an assessor and an adjuster. Wherever the disaster occurs you are going to want to return to normal as quickly as possible, either having your business up and running and providing an income for you or having your home fixed so you can return to normal life. Understanding the fundamental differences between loss adjusters and loss assessors can ease this process.

What is a loss adjuster?

When you contact your insurance company to put in a claim they will immediately assign a loss adjuster to the case. A loss adjuster works for the insurance company and, as the name suggests, will adjust the claim accordingly. Because the loss adjuster – in essence – works for the insurance company they will ensure that the insurance company pays out as little as possible within the confines of the law. The loss adjuster will investigate the case (interviewing you and any possible witnesses alongside checking records and the extent of your liability in the disaster) and negotiate the claims payment.

What is an insurance loss assessor?

Whilst the insurance loss assessor carries out similar duties to the loss adjuster the main difference is that the insurance loss assessor works on behalf of you, the claimant. The insurance loss assessor will use their knowledge experience to ensure that you receive an adequate financial settlement form the claim – which will give you the funds you need to get your life or business back on track.

So whilst there is a wealth of similarities in the work that the loss adjuster and insurance loss assessor carry out, understanding that one of them can work with your interests in mind can make all the difference if you happen to be the victim of some catastrophic disaster – and that’s no joke!

Wayne Barker writes for Harris Balcombe, the UK’s foremost Claim Recovery Specialist. Harris Balcombe specialise in fire insurance claims, flood insurance claims and business interruption insurance claims.

October 11, 2010

10 Things to Know About Car Rental Insurance

You have just arrived at the airport and are now in line at the car rental agency. You want to hurry up and get on with your vacation. Before you can do that, however, you need to figure out what type of car rental insurance you want to sign up for. This can be very confusing. However, if you know the following ten things that it can be a lot easier to figure out what car insurance to get.

  1. Your personal car insurance usually covers rental cars. If this is the case then you do not need to purchase other car rental insurance because you are already covered. Check your policy before you make a decision about getting rental car insurance.
  2. Your credit card may or may not come with automatic car insurance. If it does, it is usually loss damage waiver insurance and you typically have to decline other coverage for it to kick in. The credit card may not insure certain types of vehicles such as luxury SUVs. Read the details about this carefully before you go on a trip so that you can decide whether or not you want to take advantage of this option.
  3. International car rental may not be covered by existing coverage. In other words, if you typically rely on the protections from your own auto insurance policy and / or your credit card you want to make sure that this coverage applies to international travel.
  4. Existing coverage may not cover certain types of trips. Long term car rental and car rental for business travel sometimes also aren’t covered by personal car insurance and / or credit cards. Again, check carefully.
  5. The two most common options are loss damage and liability. If you do decide to purchase car rental insurance from the rental car company then you will likely choose between two core types of options: loss damage (also known as collision) coverage and liability. Loss damage protects damage done to the rental car vehicle because of various accidents and emergencies. Liability covers the damage done to people in the car (or the other car) in the event of an accident.
  6. You can save a lot of money by not getting insurance but it’s risky. USA Today reports that there are people who always decline to get car rental insurance and save themselves thousands of dollars over their years of travel as a result. However, as with many other types of insurance, you’re taking the risk of incurring huge costs if you do get into an accident and don’t have the rental car insurance.
  7. The cost you pay without insurance may include lost revenue. If you opt not to get car rental insurance and the car is in an accident then you won’t just pay for the cost of the repairs. You may also be obligated to pay for the revenue that the car rental company loses when the car is in the repair shop.
  8. You can add personal effects coverage. You pay only a small fee for this and it protects the items that you have in the car in case they get stolen. If you’re traveling with a laptop or other expensive items then this protection can be well worth the cost. Make sure that you don’t already have this coverage under your personal property or home insurance policy in order to avoid wasting money.
  9. Fees vary dramatically from one car rental agency to another. Consider this when shopping around for the best rental car rates. A company may appear to have a great rate but if the insurance is twice as expensive as other places then the total cost may be more than it seems at first glance.
  10. It’s worth it to decide in advance what type of car rental insurance you want. Typically you don’t make this decision until you’re at the rental car counter but then it’s easy to get sucked into sales pitches. Decide in advance to save money.
October 7, 2010

Granada Hills Realtors: What’s in it for you? Part – 2

As per my commitment here are the disadvantages of not using Granada Hills Realtor.

Losing out on expert advice

You can go out and manage your property related dealings, but you will dearly miss an expert opinion every now and then as you are not really accustomed with the business of real estate. Even you might well end up wasting your energy and resources and still achieve next to nothing. All these will add to your woes and you will get frustrated.

Time management

In the absence of a skilled agent you will have to manage time to look after of all the showings and your personal work. You will need to have time to do all the paper works, presentation, meeting with clients, making modifications to your house, arrange for promotion and marketing of the house, and negotiate with all the office bearers concerned and the potential clients. By the end of all of these you will be left exhausted, saturated and burned out. This might cost you more than employing a real estate agent or Realtor like the Granada Hills Realtor.

Quality services of an agent

You can’t get a better worth for your resources and hard work if you go in for agents who offer lowest commission rates on a property sell. You need to realize why a particular product costs you more than others or why fashionable linen is costlier than the ordinary ones. A lot of planning, promotion goes into making your property to draw people and make it look more valuable of buying than others. Hence, it is easy to understand that an agent who charges fewer commission is not going to put in that extra bit of work that will enable you to sell your property. Lower commission is directly proportional to lower perks for the agents. An agent earning chock-a-block of payment is most likely to strain every nerve to tackle any impediment that may crop up.

You must not go in for short term benefits; instead you must have an eye for the longer gains and smarter way of getting the act right in selling your property. It is your property and you just can’t compromise on its proper handover for the sake of saving a few dollars that you would have to shell out to employ a top real estate agent like the Granada Hills Realtor.

After having a look at all the above stated points you can straightforwardly realize what things you will lose and what you will gain by not choosing or by choosing Granada Hills Realtor as your real estate agent. Bear in mind, stop squabbling for every little concern with your agent and start listening and trusting him or her if you really wish to convert your dreams into reality.

October 1, 2010

Granada Hills Realtors: What’s in it for you? Part – 1

Once you have decided to buy a home or sell your existing home to prospective buyers and have completed the ground work then you must look for a skilled professional who can guide you through all the hurdles in attaining your ambitions. When we talk of skilled professionals the most eligible and recommendable name is the Granada Hills Realtors.

Based on your decision whether you partner or don’t with Granada Hills Realtors a list of advantages and disadvantages can be drawn that might help you in your decision.

Advantages of using Granada Hills Realtors

Narrowing down your search

Your agent can do all the research work for you and finding out your likes and dislikes and minimize your search by just concentrating only on properties that suit your needs and that can be profitable both for you and for the agent. An agent is a great source of information and is capable of delivering the goods even in adverse situations. You can be rest assured of good results as a timely closure of your property’s deal will also signal profit to the agent or the Realtor. So, it’s not only yours but also for their best interest that the agents will use every trick in their hat to do what is best for you. An agent guarantees showing of your house to qualified buyers and thus saving your time and energy. The agents mainly concentrate with buyers who have been pre-approved for financing and hence accelerating the process of your property’s sale.

Negotiating with contracts

The agents are well equipped in the implementation of incredibly complex process of contracts and paperwork associated to a property sale that includes the services of attorneys, title or escrow agencies, and notaries. Agents are amazing at negotiating contracts and completing all works that you won’t be able to achieve even after a long time. As agents are well educated and trained in their field they know what to say and when to say. They also help you in determining the correct price of the property and prepare the presentation.

Having access to MLS

Most of the reputed agents or Realtors have access to Multiple Listing Service (MLS) that lists properties that are available for sale. Your agent is the only one who can have access to all possible homes and organize showings for houses that can suit your interest and needs.

Disadvantages will come soon. Keep enjoying this post & share your feedback.