Typically, forensic engineers are thought of as claim service providers for the insurance industry. Most forensic engineers are called in after failures and catastrophes to help identify possible causes, provide scopes of repair, and identify potential avenues of subrogation.
Forensic engineers can provide another, equally valuable, service to the insurance industry, however. They can help to identify potential signs of failure in structures before disasters occur, which can be beneficial from an underwriting and risk management point of view.
Complete failure of structural elements in buildings, thankfully, does not occur frequently. However, some common causes of building failures can be related to structural members, as well as building envelope, electrical, fire protection, mechanical, HVAC, and plumbing systems. Many structural elements of major buildings are concealed by finish work and, therefore, hidden from view. Due to the threat posed to both human life and property, evaluation of structural elements is best performed by forensic engineers.
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