When a significant homeowner property loss occurs, the adjuster is keenly aware of the insureds' desire to return to their home quickly after the reconstruction. It is also in the best interest of the carrier for the claim to move along in an expeditious manner in order to provide high levels of customer service and control costs such as additional living expenses.

Losses involving large commercial properties are often very complex, and the adjuster must be well versed in a variety of perils including building fires, explosions, collapses, water damage, mold, and equipment and machinery malfunction. Often, commercial properties involve tenant issues and exposures in addition to the insured's real property loss. Again, the adjuster is trained to handle the claim in a professional and expeditious manner to satisfy the policyholder and minimize the claim for business interruption.

Most subrogation professionals will agree property losses can pose unique challenges for a successful recovery. Very often, expeditious claims handling can have a negative impact on a subrogation opportunity if the adjuster is moving quickly to bring the loss to a conclusion and forgetting about potential recovery opportunities. A good practice would be for the property adjuster to place a subrogation indicator on any file having even the remotest subrogation potential. The adjuster should alert the subrogation department to jump into the claim from a recovery perspective as it is best to get involved early in the claims process to gather and protect critical information and evidence. Best case scenario would be for both the claim adjuster and the subrogation adjuster to develop a strategic relationship which will not only keep the customer happy but will preserve the carrier's right to a successful recovery, should one exist.

Recommended For You

Want to continue reading?
Become a Free PropertyCasualty360 Digital Reader

Your access to unlimited PropertyCasualty360 content isn’t changing.
Once you are an ALM digital member, you’ll receive:

  • Breaking insurance news and analysis, on-site and via our newsletters and custom alerts
  • Weekly Insurance Speak podcast featuring exclusive interviews with industry leaders
  • Educational webcasts, white papers, and ebooks from industry thought leaders
  • Critical converage of the employee benefits and financial advisory markets on our other ALM sites, BenefitsPRO and ThinkAdvisor
NOT FOR REPRINT

© 2025 ALM Global, LLC, All Rights Reserved. Request academic re-use from www.copyright.com. All other uses, submit a request to [email protected]. For more information visit Asset & Logo Licensing.