LOSS ASSESSMENT
L-R: Dean McLoughlin and Peter Mulvaney, partners, PCLA.
PLUMBERS CALLED OUT FOR EMERGENCY REPAIRS CAN BENEFIT FROM A 10% REFERRAL PAYOUT BY PASSING ON ANY INSURANCE CLAIM EVALUATIONS TO PROPERTY CLAIMS LOSS ASSESSORS… Plumbing the depths of insurance claims
Dublin-based Property Claims Loss Assessors (PCLA) Ltd is offering a win-win partnership for plumbers responding to emergency call outs to deal with leaks. Whether the leak is in a small residential property or a large commercial premises, the plumber on the job stands to pocket 10% of the client fee for any successful insurance claim by passing the referral to PCLA. PCLA partners Peter Mulvaney and Dean McLoughlin are both qualified building surveyors who have worked in loss assessment since leaving college, collectively offering more than 30 years’ experience in the insurance industry. “We’re a loss assessment company that solely deals with insurance claims on behalf of the policy holder and the general public,” said Peter, who founded the business in 2015. “A lot of the work we get is from plumbers who are the first people out after an incident has occurred such as a burst pipe. “Claims are our forte - just being able to assess the situation and pinpoint exactly what is damaged. We’ll do a moisture survey to show to the insurance company, as they wouldn’t have our technical background.
“That’s why it’s important for any policy holder to have someone like us involved; we can really maximise their claim and get their true payout.” PCLA’s client base currently spans much of the Republic of Ireland, including the west coast from Donegal to Cork, the Midlands and the east coast including Dublin and Wexford. With policy holders often facing an excess payment and potential loss of their no- claims bonus, insurance claims are only worthwhile for damage totalling at least €2,000 but can run into the millions, said Peter. Clients include bars, restaurants and large commercial premises but most of its business comes from domestic residences. Residential claims typically average at least €10,000 but can easily reach €200,000 for serious damage requiring a complete strip out. While PCLA can be called in under the ‘trace and access’ element of policies to detect gas leaks, its work tends to focus on water leaks from pipework. Claims against third party manufacturers supplying faulty water pumps and fittings are common, and PCLA has on occasion represented plumbers subject to
overzealous claims by policyholders. But its partnership with plumbers is more often a simple process of referral, assessment and successful claim. “If a plumber is interested in making a referral, we’ll have a chat and go through the whole process with them,” said Peter. “Basically, they’re the first person on site and their priority is to fix a leak and prevent any further damage and, once that’s done, they can have a chat with the client.” If the client wishes to pursue an insurance claim, the plumber can make a referral on a no-win, no-fee basis. PCLA will then have a chat with the client, assess the situation and determine if both parties are happy to go ahead with the loss assessment. “We are professionals in what we do, and we have a good collaboration with plumbers because if they’re fixing a leak and passing it on to us, we deal with their claim very efficiently, get them a good deal and they have happy clients,” said Peter. “We can also pass on some work to our plumber partners, but the main thing is we get them on our system and get them a referral fee for literally passing our name on, that’s the limit of their involvement.” T: +353 (0)1 562 0082 - E: info@pcla.ie www.pcla.ie
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