Titles to this weblog appear to have extra affect than the content material. Yesterday’s publish, HAAG Celebrates Being in Enterprise 100 Years—And It Stays an Unbiased Engineering Agency, had quite a few non-public feedback asking why I used to be saying such good issues about HAAG. The first level of the publish was the title to this publish, and I attempted to make it by asking readers these questions:

Are you able to think about a situation the place a public adjusting agency acquires an engineering firm after which hires these engineers to find out the reason for a loss? Would any impartial adjuster, firm adjuster, or insurance coverage firm legal professional readily settle for the professional opinions supplied by that engineering firm? The reply is clearly ‘no.’

So, why ought to policyholders be compelled to just accept engineering opinions from corporations owned, immediately or not directly, by impartial adjusters? Surprisingly, there are a number of bigger impartial adjusting corporations which have bought engineering corporations and subsequently depend on them to provide studies on losses.

Massive impartial adjusting corporations appear to be on a revenue motive spree by retaining engineering corporations they personal somewhat than acquiring really impartial opinions from impartial engineers. Engle Martin & Associates, Inc., a nationwide impartial adjusting agency, acquired PT&C Forensic Consulting Providers, a frontrunner in forensic engineering. McLarens acquired Vanderwal & Joosten, a Dutch engineering claims firm with a group of adjusters and technical engineers. Sedgwick, a big impartial adjusting agency, has acquired a number of engineering corporations.

The perfect claims apply can be the retention of the most effective impartial and non-biased engineering consultants one might discover somewhat than one whom the impartial adjusting agency will earn more money from the money cow insurer shopper. Is the Sedwick impartial adjuster actually going to harshly criticize the findings and report from its personal engineering firm? This new monetary association between the impartial adjusters and the engineers will not be good for the insurer shopper and the insurer’s policyholder.

Do you assume judges, juries, arbitrators, and insurance coverage regulators won’t be asking about this association when it comes time for essential judgment about who is correct or improper?

Thought For The Day      

The time is at all times proper to do what is correct.

—Martin Luther King Jr.