Loss adjusters have lifted themselves off the starting blocks of the claims process. They have started the process to douse the pains and challenges of the the insureds who were hit by EndSARS protest and the heat on them still lingers.
The face of insurance, loss adjusters, are acting like first responders and engaging the insureds that are in loss distress. Now, the claims terrain is ubiquitous with the steady stream of loss adjusters working on instructions received from their principals: the insurance companies.
An army of loss adjusting professionals are criss-crossing the flash points across the country after the EndSARS protests that left a huge loss of assets in both the private and public sectors, as well as the informal sector.
As insurance companies spread their liability net for covered losses, each company separately but mutually, engage their claims department from where loss adjusting firms receive instructions to move to site of loss. A lot of them are in such places to inspect extent of damage before the insured begins clearance of damage and restoration.
For an industry that insures the unexpected, the cost of the losses is expected to run into billions of naira and this would manifest after the initial report from loss adjusters is compiled. In the words of Mrs. Yinka Adekoya, managing director, Coronation Insurance, this is the moment to offer “our customers the most appropriate help as quickly as possible.”
Emphasising prompt delivery of service by all actors in the claims chain, Adekoya said, “we are aware that our customers are dealing with numerous difficulties at this time and the last thing they want is painful and challenging claims process.”
Affected insurance companies have stepped into full claims gear, despatching adjusters to where they are needed, the President Institute of Loss Adjusters of Nigeria, Mr. Reginald Egbuniwe, said the firm where he is the managing director, Grand Metropolitan Associates, has received several instructions like many others and he expects more. Despite the widespread destruction, he said only insured losses would be estimated. Total losses will come from the combined liabilities of all companies. However, he said tis unfortunate “a lot of shop owners may not be insured.”
Mr. Babatunde Fajemirokun, managing director at AIICO Insurance Plc, also assures of “doing all that is necessary to see our customers through the phase. We are asking our customers with covered cases to contact us for immediate assistance with claims.”
In a remote bull’s eye aim at the political indifference to national ills that midwifed the losses that insurers are responding to, Fajemirokun still exudes confidence it will hopefully lead to a better nation. His burst of confidence: “The year 2020 and all we have experienced as a nation are tailwinds propelling us forward and helping us to evolve. Indeed, the injection of new imagination, energy and innovative thinking into national discourse will take us there.”
Since claims would be limited to insured losses, Egbuniwe said the lesson “is for the public to embrace insurance because uncertainty is always present in everyday life and that is what insurance does, it takes care of uncertainty.”
