Immediately following the incident. A seasoned expert can help you put your records in order for an advance request, discuss mitigating efforts, assist with setting up record keeping protocols that make sure no information is overlooked, and just act as an incentive for the insurance companies’ experts to play a little more fairly, because they know that they will be closely scrutinized.
Mistakes that will be very costly, in the business interruption portion of the claim, are made early in the claim process. For example, simple documentation processes are overlooked while everyone focuses on the physical recovery.
Recently I had a manufacturing client that made an extra expense claim. I was brought in immediately after the loss and insisted on daily payroll records being kept that detailed the physical activities of all of their employees following the loss. They didn’t think it was a great idea and grumbled the whole time. At the settlement meeting, over one year later, the insurance company’s accountant argued that there was minimal extra labor expense based on a historical trend analysis. We pulled out the boxes of detailed payroll records and our summary schedules of the data. Had we been called later in the process, we would not have had these records to work with.
End result: The insurance company’s accountant estimated the extra labor to be $6,000 but we settled for $320,000. Again, the answer to the question of when to engage a forensic accountant is immediately after the loss. For more examples, of how a forensic accountant can add value (not to mention relieving the pain of dealing with the insurance company yourself) to your claim, check out these examples.
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