The insurer's loss adjuster: report, authority and objections

1. Ask about the assignment and role

Record the expert's name, organisation and appointing party. Within its scope, the Gedragscode Claimbehandeling describes information about the appointed expert's duties, powers and independence. Ask whether the investigation concerns only the extent of loss or also cause and other facts. An external expert is not automatically your own representative. Nor does this automatically make their findings incorrect. The relevant question is how the investigation was carried out and what supports its conclusions. Also ask who ultimately decides on cover and who can authorise particular repairs.

2. Prepare factually for the visit

Have the policy, notification, photographs and relevant invoices ready. Make a list of damaged items and questions. Identify emergency measures already taken and explain why. Retain damaged parts where safe and practicable, without allowing dangerous conditions to persist for the investigation. Explain what you saw yourself and what someone else told you. A suspicion about a technical cause should not be presented as certainty. Ask which additional documents are required and how to supply them. After the visit, note what was discussed and which next step was announced.

3. Check agreements before signing

A form may merely confirm a visit, but it can also include an amount of loss or a binding expert-assessment agreement. Read the whole document and ask about its purpose and legal effects. Do not sign wording you do not understand. Request a copy and, if necessary, time to obtain advice. A reassuring oral description is no substitute for the exact text. Record it if you are only acknowledging receipt or still have a substantive reservation, after the appropriate wording has been assessed. Take a draft to your lawyer if a substantial amount or final determination is involved.

4. Request the report and calculation

Check the factual description, data used and the step from finding to conclusion. Are the date, damaged parts and repair method correct? Are assumptions identifiable as assumptions? Also ask how value, quantities and depreciation were determined. An amount without a calculation leaves little scope for substantive checking. The claims code describes information about the assessment process; ask for an explanation if the insurer merely invokes expert assessment in general terms. Always assess the report against the actual assignment. An expert may have investigated one aspect properly without answering every question of insurance law.

5. Respond separately to errors and differences of opinion

Distinguish an incorrect fact from a different expert assessment. A wrong address can be corrected directly; a dispute about cause may require further investigation. For each point, identify the passage and your evidence. Do not silently replace an earlier statement; explain the correction. Ask the insurer how your response affects its decision. If the report is amended, that does not automatically mean that all costs or coverage change. Keep your own overview of the questions still open and the answers for each aspect.

6. Choose a counter-assessment or legal advice if needed

Kifid describes a statutory basis for reasonable counter-expert costs in a dispute about the amount of loss, subject to assessment of the work and costs. This does not automatically create the same entitlement for a coverage investigation. Have the assignment defined before incurring costs. A lawyer can also assess conditions, the evidence question and binding agreements. A technical expert is not automatically the right person to monitor complaint deadlines or litigation strategy. Make clear who handles each part. For an unresolved dispute, submit a focused internal complaint and then investigate the appropriate route, without forgetting other deadlines.

7. Fictional example: an omitted repair item

Suppose that after an insured incident the report provides for repairing one wall, but a damaged connection has not been investigated. The insured person supplies photographs and requests an explanation of that item. A supplement may follow, or a technical disagreement may remain. A counter-expert with a focused assignment can then be useful. This fictional example creates no right to full replacement or a predetermined payment. It shows that you first need to establish whether something was overlooked, deliberately excluded or considered technically unnecessary by the expert. These are different reasons requiring different next steps.

8. Checklist for the expert's visit

Before an important investigation, ask who decides and who assesses your own interests. Preserve report versions, notes and signed agreements. If in doubt, discuss with a lawyer whether repairs, a second investigation or a complaint should take place first.

• Appointing party, investigation questions and authority.
• Original notification, photographs, documents and list of loss items.
• Record of the visit, instructions and agreed next steps.
• Report, calculation, corrections and signed documents.
• Separate questions about cover, extent of loss and deadlines.