Our Role as Investigative Engineers
Investigative Engineers are practicing design professionals who apply their practical skills as well as their academic training to solving the technical quandaries of the Insurance Claims industry. The Investigative Engineer's required scope of services will vary widely, depending on the complexity of the loss and the actual claim value. The Investigative Engineer must render honest and impartial service to his client.
Cause and Origin
Cause and Origin investigations are intended, as the name implies, to pinpoint the origin and establish the probable cause of an accident or failure. The term is most often applied to fire-loss inquiries, but is also more liberally applied to other types of building loss and machinery investigations.
Scope of Repairs
Investigative Engineers are frequently retained to furnish a scope of repairs for a property loss claim, which necessitates surveys, inspections, materials testing, engineering analysis, and drawings and/or specifications.
Quantum of Damages
Investigative Engineers are often asked by Insurance Adjusters to assess the quantum of damages for a loss. The adjuster must have an estimate of the damages so that he may set aside a reserve fund for the loss, as well as for use as a guide in determining the reasonableness of repair contractors' quotes submitted for the work. The Investigative Engineer may also be asked to present a detailed estimate in the case of major property loss, when the damage may exceed the actual cash value of the property. An estimate of this nature is required to assist both the Insurer and the Insured in determining the best course of action to follow; whether it is best to repair, settle, or reconstruct.
Supervision of Repairs
Supervision of repairs to a property are dependent on several variables. Investigative Engineers are commonly retained to work alongside during contractors for machinery and equipment repair dismantling and testing, as the full scope of the damage often cannot be determined until such work is in progress. Building officials may request that repairs be inspected by a qualified engineer in order to certify quality, a practice becoming more prevalent as building officials become more acutely aware of the specialized knowledge and training necessary to assess the scope of damage and to effect the required repairs in major building loss claims.
Faulty Design
The magnitude of faulty design in insurance claims can be determined only by a professional. It is for that reason Investigative Engineers are retained in essentially all faulty design insurance claims. Evidence of faulty design may also be discovered during the course of a normal building loss investigation.
Defective Construction
In the course of investigations, the Investigative Engineer may find that a given building loss claim was caused partially, if not primarily, by a construction defect. At that time, the Investigative Engineer will have to compare actual construction to available design drawings, specifications, or shop drawings of the building in question. Although the determination of a construction defect may not void coverage under the property owner's policy, it may enable the Insurer to subrogate his loss against the building contractor or supplier.
Product Liability
In product liability losses, the Investigative Engineer will occasionally be asked to ascertain whether the product or equipment contains an ?inherent defect?, arising as a consequence of poor design, faulty material, improper assembly or retrofit alteration.
Expert Witness
The Investigative Engineer must occasionally be prepared to give expert testimony at deposition and at trial.
Risk Management
Insurers and Insured alike have a vested interest in reducing their exposure to claims and losses through the implementation of risk management. Insurers who underwrite policies for unknown or uncertain risks take the chance that they might underestimate the risk they underwrite, and those insured who do not take steps to reduce their exposure can expect to pay a premium rate for their insurance.
Arbitrator
A large number of insurance policies provide for the arbitration of disputed claims. Although these arbitration provisions vary according to individual claim or jurisdiction, the Investigative Engineer, due to his special knowledge of insurance claims, is frequently retained to serve as an arbitrator for such conflicts.
Preservation of Evidence
At the outset of any investigation, it is extremely difficult to predict what will ultimately prove to be the most significant and important evidence. For this reason, it is extremely important for Investigative Engineers to get to the site of a claim as soon as possible; in many cases, even before his entire investigative team is assembled. By doing so, the Investigative Engineer can also size up the investigation and take photographs to generally document the condition of the site, its accessibility to unauthorized personnel, etc.
Approach to the Investigative Project
Typically, an engagement begins with a phone call, letter, or fax from an Adjuster.
We request certain specific information relating to the loss:
- Type of loss
- Date of loss
- Name and address of Insured
- Name and address of Claimant, if different
- Policy number
- Claim number
- Name and telephone number of contact person at Adjuster's office
- Estimate value of claim
- General outline of policy coverage
Additionally, we solicit general information:
- Any records and documents already obtained or available
- Any pertinent information in Adjuster's file
- Circumstance of this loss
If no records or documentation have been obtained by the Adjuster, we may prepare a request for data, addressed to the insured (or his representative), copying the Adjuster. Depending on the circumstances, we may first contact the insured or his representative to arrange an appointment with the insured at the location of damage or accident.
If the Adjuster has obtained records and documents, we will request that they be forwarded to us. After examination, we will prepare a request for additional data needed is so required.
We will contact the Adjuster no less often than biweekly to keep the Adjuster appraised of the status of the assignment. After completion of the assignment, we will issue a report of our findings and conclusions. We will invite your questions and comments to assure complete understanding of the report.
Subsequently, we can assist the Insurance Company's attorney in the preparation of Interrogatories and in the preparation of related questions to be asked during Statements Under Oath and in Depositions.
We will be available to testify as experts as to our opinions. All of the above will be accomplished professionally, timely, and on a cost-effective basis.
Tri-Tech Engineering