Homeowners are advised to get an assessor

Homeowners who have suffered losses from the devastating floods have been advised to get an insurance assessor to act for them.

An assessor works on your behalf and will negotiate with your insurer to settle your claim.

This includes negotiating the settlement figure offered by the insurer if you feel that it will not cover the losses you have suffered. Paul Kavanagh, of brokerage McCarthy Insurance Group, said that insurers were required to advise clients to get an assessor.

Insurers use loss adjusters to assess the damage, but they act for the insurance company and may not assess the damage to the satisfaction of the claimant.

An assessor will go through a checklist and be thorough enough to ensure that the amount claimed covers everything, from damage to fridges to electrics.

Having an assessor will ensure that the claim covers all damage and that something does not go wrong after the householder’s claim has been settled.

They can also take some of the stress out of the entire process as they deal directly with the insurer.