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Below are a selection of stories from
POST MAGAZINE that have featured Carmichaels:
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| A
Day In The Life Of A Loss Adjuster by Francis
Higney |
Franicis
Higney spent a day with Graham Eades of Carmichaels
and found the loss adjusting threw up more than
he bargained for.
Anyone familiar with Williams Boyd's book Armadillo
could be forgiven for thinking that those choosing
to enter the loss adjusting profession were mavericks
excited by operating in the twilight and often dangerous
world that blurs legitimate and illegitimate business
practice.
While there are undoubtedly occasions when interesting
cases do occur, the day-to-day life of a loss adjuster
can sometimes border on mundane. Yet even here intrigue
can manifest itself.
My guide for the day was Graham Eades, a chartered
loss adjuster for Carmichaels, one of the country's
smaller but expanding firms. He's been in the business
for 18 years, having moved from the claims department
at the old Sun Alliance to major adjuster Robins.
On my day with Graham he had four cases to cover
- weekly number varies between 10 and 30. Three
were thefts, the bread and butter of most adjustments.
On the way to our first call - an elderly widow
in Enfield who had been burgled - Graham took a
call on his car phone from the office. There was
some confusion over the sum to be paid to a claimant
by the insurer. Once that was sorted he explained
claims adjusters at company headquarters in Maidstone
assist with the mountains of paperwork that arises
as a result of his investigations.
Once inside the widow's house, Graham explained
who he was and the role he was performing before
checking the claim form thoroughly and asking for
receipts, checking locks in the house and the mode
of entry to the break in (the thieves had smashed
though a plate glass door - no one heard anything
despite the fact that it was in a neighborhood watch
area.
Because the women had a few receipts for most of
the stolen jewellery, Graham advised obtaining a
valuation so the claim could be further processed
and replacements provided.
However, she insisted she wanted cash, not replacements,
in order to install security equipment. Graham said
that should not be a problem but pointed out she
would be paid a sum less the discount the insurer
would normally receive from the jeweller for replacing
the goods. All in all, a pretty standard start to
the day.
But things got more interesting. Next stop was Southgate
and a claim for over £7000 for jewellery.
The couple making the claim were undoubtedly upright
citizens but more an uncanny resemblance to Fast
Show stalwarts Dave and Maureen Angel - he: loud,
brash, dripping with gold; she: blonde, also dripping
with gold.
The claim was for a lost jewellery box containing
earrings bracelets and broaches - all gold - and
a couple of "Gucci Watches" (sic). The
box was stolen when they were on holiday (Spain)
and their daughter was left in the house. She was
charged with letting in their decorator friend to
renovate the lounge. Somehow, someone left the back
door open and this was when the thief struck.
Being a cynical journalist, the term "moral
hazard" immediately burned into my brain. Graham
was later to tell me that his feeling was that the
jewellery had indeed been stolen.
However after painstakingly going through the list
item by item and examining holiday snaps to decide
the length of necklaces - therefore their worth
- it transpired the warranty on their policy insisted
the property be secure at all times during the day
when the couple were not present. Graham told the
couple it was therefore unlikely the insurer would
pay out. Cue much huffing and puffing.
The next claim was a relatively straightforward
one for a new kitchen floor following water damage
emanating from a neighbor's burst pipe.
But, as in many things in life, the best was left
till last. Again, on the face of it, a simple theft
claim - but it unmasked a hidden underworld.
A tall man greeted us at the door of a four-bedroomed
house in the Redbridge area of London in his late
50's. He invited us in where we were soon joined
by the man's brother, of similar age but much more
wiry. We were shown into a lounge devoid of any
of life's luxuries save a cold-looking electric
fire.
It transpired brother number two lived in the house,
but the contents policy was in the name of brother
number one who lived elsewhere with his wife. Brother
two then explained in great detail - given added
significance by wild rolling of the eyes and windmill
hand gesticulations - of how his life had been turned
upside down as his goods were stolen just as he
was to move house.
The thieves had broken in and helped themselves
to a pre-packed booty, which explained more of the
unusual items listed on the claim form, for example,
a pair of slippers.
But it was when Mr. Eades asked to have a look around
the premises to check on door and window locks that
events dipped into the unusual. One bedroom had
heavy curtains drawn and was enveloped in darkness.
However, the gloom only marginally lifted when the
curtains were pulled back. The reason soon became
apparent - the room was painted black. Brother two
saw me starring in mild incredulity and piped up:
"it's painted that way for a reason. I'm a
masseur." Now that did shock me . He looked
as much a masseur as Posh Spice does a sumo wrestler.
On further inspection, other bedrooms had been decorated
in a similar manner and after some more routine
questions. Graham and I made our excuses and left.
This time he said the "moral hazard" question
might arise in the settlement of any claim - immoral
hazard if you ask me - and he would be passing on
all details to the insurer. I'm only relieved he
didn't claim for loosing the tools of his trade.
"And do you have a receipt for this cat-of-nine
tails whip? Sir? |
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| Does
Green Law Make Drivers Burn Rubber? by a Carmichaels
Loss Adjuster |
Environmental Legislation
could be to blame for the growing number of arson
attacks to cars in the past year, according to loss
adjusters Carmichael & Company. There has been
a 17% rise in the number of cars dliberately set
alight, with 50,000 burned last year at a cost to
insurers of over £77m.
A Carmichaels' loss adjuster said: "An influencing
factor may be that, this year, cars must be converted
to run on unleaded petrol, and scrap metal pieces
have hit rock bottom." He added: "It is
interesting just how many of these cars are also
shortly due to have their MOT."
We asked ourselves: "Do these factors indicate
that it is easier to make a fraudulent insurance
claim rather than to try and sell the vechile?" |
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| Electrical
Goods Top Burglars' Wish List by
Paul Rolland |
Over half of all burglaries
involve the theft of electrical equipment, with
laptop computers, game stations and mobile phones
top of the thieves' swag list, according to research
carried out by loss adjusters Carmichaels. The figures
come from an analysis of over 100 burglary claims
handled by Carmichaels. Almost 40% of break-ins
involve jewllery, with cash being stolen in only
17% of cases.
Suprisingly, some thieves have time to satisfy another
kind of craving, with 3% of them stealing food.
Carmichaels senior partner Paul Rolland said: "We
deal with a large range of losses from a few thousand
to several million pounds. Some thieves are specialists
and less selective, being content to steal from
garden sheds."
Statistics for the British Crimes Survey show that
5.6% of homes in Engalnd and Wales suffer attempted
burglaries with over half successful. The average
loss is calculated at £1416, the average value
of loss where the victim is insured is much higher.
Nationally, nearly 10% of burglaries involve losses
of more than £5000. Two thirds involve damage
to property and in 11% of cases this damage amounts
to more than £500. |
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| Fraud
Floodgates Set To Be Opened by Francis Higney |
New interpretations
of the Data Protection Act could transform it into
a fraudsters' charter, a loss adjuster has warned.
Paul Rolland, a founding partner of adjusting practice
Carmichaels, claims he cannot perform his job in
a professional manner because of a Data Protection
Registrar ruling prohibiting him from carrying out
thorough financial status checks on people. Every
claim to the office was previously subject to such
a search. He claims it has proved very successful
in terms of fraud prevention.
Now credit reference company Equifax has refused
to carry out in-depth searches following the DPR
ruling. He raged: "This decision affects the
whole of the claims industry. Once the public gets
to know about this we could see a raft of fraudulent
claims."
Correspondence from DPR obtained by Post Magazine
points out that loss adjusters, insurers and others
may be breaking the law in using such information.
Specifically it notes: "While we are aware
of the insurance industry's concerns surrounding
fraud, this does not detract from the requirement
of the first data protection principle. In practice
this means that whenever an individual supplies
information which is to be automatically processed
they should be made aware who is obtaining the information
and for what purposes and what disclosures."
It adds a duty of confidence to the information
"as held to be lenders and credit agencies".
The Chartered Institute of Loss Adjusters is aware
of the rigid interpretation being applied and is
awaiting advice on the next move. However, the Association
of British Insurers last month issued a directive
to its members warning them off carrying out routine
checks on individual's credit records. |
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| Savings
Don't Have To Equal De-skilling by
Paul Rolland |
I read with intertest
the remarks of the Chartered Insitute of Loss Adjuster's
new president, John Ball, on the dangers of dumbing
down the de-skilling claims handling. It is right
and proper that every CILA president should stand
up for his members hard-earned expertise and qualifications,
especially at a time when many loss adjusters, as
a result of market forces, are being forced to leave
the profession and take their skills elsewhere.
Too many loss adjusters have majored on providing
an unskilled, box ticking service.
Yet there are still major savinga that can be acheived
by proper loss adjusting at a proper rate of pay.
While a commitment to these levels of service may
have an affect on my profit margins, my firm is
still able to acheive savings on claims which are
above the industry average.
Savings on claims is, of course, only part of the
story, the experienced and professional adjuster
adding value to the whole claims experience by way
of his or her experise. Net result - increased retention. |
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| Subsidence
Not A Laughing Matter by Francis Higney |
 I
read with some (but not total) amusement Brian Clancy's
letter "That sinking feeling (again)"
(PM, 27 July, p12). Loss adjusters and others who
make their living out of subsidence will always
bemoan wet summers. While the wet weather means
an obvious decline in subsidence claims, it does
not mean these claims disappear completely.
A strong housing market means that record numbers
of houses are being surveyed and cracks being discovered.
Previous subsidence-related repairs have often been
carried out to a poor or inadequate standard and
the homeowner's love of trees will always create
problems and poor drainage, all leading to, if not
a steady flow, a reasonable trickle of claims.
This may be humorous to some, but to every house-holder
they are a domestic tragedy that can drag on for
months, if not years. |
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