3 Important Factors Commonly Overlooked In Property Inspections

3 Important Factors Commonly Overlooked In Property Inspections
Property inspections play a critical role in the underwriting process. This is why it’s so surprising that there are often a number of overlooked factors in a property inspection that can greatly increase an insurance company’s risk of taking it on.

Here are 3 important factors that are often not taken into consideration with a property inspection, but most certainly should be:

1. Not maintaining an accurate list of what needs to be inspected.
Most properties include a number of areas, features, and structures that need to be inspected, and the larger the property, the more demanding the property inspection will be. An area that is missed on the property inspection could potentially end up being a very costly mistake for the insurer of the property. This is why it’s critical that an accurate list of what needs to be inspected be maintained and referred to often throughout the property inspection process.

2. Making guesses rather than relying on accurate facts.
Some property inspectors make not be particularly experienced or knowledgable when inspecting certain properties. As a result, some guesswork may be used to complete the property inspection. By not having an accurate property inspection completed, the property creates a significant risk for the insurer. When dealing with more unique properties, it’s especially important to engage an experienced field inspector to ensure that all issues are brought to the attention of the insurer.

3. Skimming a new build.
Unfortunately, some property inspectors make the common mistake of skimming a newly built property because they assume the property was perfectly built as it has recently passed local building codes and relevant ordinances. This can make a detrimental mistake to make as the construction of a new property can present a number of issues, especially if some of the work was subcontracted out to the wrong person. Having a thorough inspection completed on a new build is the most effective way for insurance companies to mitigate their risk when writing a policy on this type of property.

As an insurance company, having thorough property inspections completed are one of the best ways to mitigate your risk and loss exposure. However, as you can see, not all property inspections will bring to light all of the issues that a property presents. This is why it’s in the insurer’s best interest to have a field exam completed by an experienced professional that knows exactly what to look for when examining a property.

Please contact us at Insurance Risk Services to learn more about our field inspection process and how this can play a critical role in helping you to accurately assess the risk of a property.

We’re delighted to announce that Insurance Risk Services will rebrand to Davies in the near future.

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