Burglary

Steps taken in the event of a Burglary instruction being received

After receiving the instruction from the Insurer and or Broker, we will contact the insured and arrange for a convenient appointment at the address where the incident occurred. At this time, the insured will be requested to obtain replacement quotations for the stolen items prior to the appointment. The insured will also be asked to trace all relevance proof of quantum and make it available for the assessor during the appointment. The detail of the appointment will be confirmed to the Insurer/Broker via email.

The insured will be met as per the pre-arranged appointment. We will interview the insured; a statement will be obtained as well as a list of stolen property with all the relevant detail. During this process, the insured is requested to describe the make and model of electrical goods stolen, etc. We will also acquire all the relevant proof of quantum.  During the appointment, we will confirm the alleged point of entry/exit and notes are made relating to existing security measures such as burglar proofing, safety doors, alarm systems, etc. An inventory of all the remaining items will be made before the conclusion of the appointment. Should the quotations that we received from the insured seem adsorbent we will endeavor to get competitive quotations.

We will endeavor to obtain a copy of the statement that the insured made to the SAPS as well as a copy of the list of reported stolen items supplied to them by the insured, which we compare with our compiled list. The SAPS records are checked in order to determine whether any history of similar cases exists.

We check that the claimed items were not purchased by the insured under a hire purchase agreement. Should an item be purchased under HP finance we will confirm with the finance house to see it there is any other policy that would cover the item more specifically.

We will endeavor to trace the insured’s insurance history to ascertain if the insured had any previous similar claims.

Should circumstances suggest that the insured had moved into his / her current residence recently, inquiries are done as to determine whether a removals company was used? We then contact the removals company in order to obtain a copy of the furniture / items inventory and compare it with the existing items in the house as well as the items stolen. We also inquire as to whether any claim for possible losses was submitted to the Removals company insurance at the time.

Should we determine that the insured has inflated his / her claim or that the possibility of fraud exists, the situation is discussed, we make a recommendations in our report. If however the claim is found to be a genuine insurable loss, we submit a preliminary report and await the insurer’s further advices to proceed with settlement obtaining the agreement of loss.

Our motto is; “Legitimate claims must be paid as quickly as possible and hassle free”

Stephan Hess stephan@uics.co.za

Please call us on 021 930 4686 for more information.