How Can I Help?

A lot of material has been posted on this website in the time that it has been in existence.  Some of that material has elicited comments and questions.  I would like to reiterate that I’m here for just that purpose.  I know that some of you that read this blog have questions about how to handle an incident that has affected you or someone you know.  Many of you have never been through a property claims process and don’t know what to expect.  Times are changing and it’s not like the old days when an adjuster came to your home or business.  Although some companies have not completely automated yet, many have incorporated electronic adjusting.  That is, you send your carrier pictures or other proof of your loss and they will determine how to settle the claim.  In other cases, drones are used to survey vehicular or structural damage.  Some things haven’t changed, like fires, water losses, and automobile accidents.  Property damage and personal injury are still going to occur.  And some of those things are going to be caused by defective products.  That’s where I come in.  If you have any questions about claims, defective products, investigations or engineering in general, please let know.  You can contact me via the comment section on this website or email me directly at rjhill@rjhill.com.

 

Using Drones for Claims Investigations

 

The insurance claims industry has been publishing articles claiming to increase the use of drones for investigating property claims. Travelers Insurance Company was recently highlighted in an article in Insurance Journal magazine titled “Travelers’ Drone Program is Changing the Way its Claims Reps Do Business”, dated May 11, 2017.  In the article, Travelers is teaching claims adjusters to use drones to inspect property instead of physically going to the property and doing the inspection.  Where roofs are concerned, there is an obvious safety benefit.  However, the move is to eliminate sending an adjuster altogether thereby eliminating the expense of travel and on-site adjusting time not to mention is reduction in claim handling time.  What about auto claims and water damage claims and fire claims?  If a drone can be used to assess the damage without sending an adjuster to the scene, then the cost savings to the carrier will be very beneficial.  However, whatever cannot be seen by an adjuster now will not be seen by a drone either.  Hidden damage in roofs, vehicles or structures will present the same problem that it does today.  That is, what is not viewable and is not accounted for will have to examined and dealt with when the damage is discovered.  This further implies that roofers will be submitting estimates for additional work.  Similarly, auto mechanics and body shops will be submitting estimates for additional work when hidden damage is brought to light in their respective jobs.  Building contractors will be doing the same thing when they discover problems in structures that will have to be addressed before the building is ready to be reoccupied.  As tempting as drone technology is to insurance carriers; there are restrictions regarding flight over certain areas.  The FAA prohibits flight over certain populated areas and as a matter of safety, they are restricted within a certain distance from airports.  There are also concerns of privacy and whether or not a carrier might be spying on a customer.  Furthermore, can the photographic data be used to intentionally deny coverage to a customer as well as support a claim? Reports of carriers intentionally denying or shorting customers on their settlements is not unheard of and will continue.  Drone technology will facilitate this process.  After all is said and done, drone technology still has a ways to go before it is fully accepted as a common way of doing business.