gordon.dowell@daabs.com.au
Contact DAABS About DAABS Services Financial management Business planning Project evaluation Business valuation Insurance claims Benchmarking Franchise advice Corporate writing		What is my loss of profits claim worth? The aftermath of a fire or other traumatic event is often the first time many people consider just what their insurance policy is going to provide in respect of profits lost through the interruption to their business. The main questions to be addressed are, "How much have I lost?", "How much will I receive?" (not always the same thing), and "How can I resolve this as quickly as possible and get on with business?" While the principles of loss of profits insurance are reasonably straightforward - ie. the loss is the difference between what the business would actually have earned but for the damage, compared with what it actually made or lost - the mechanics of claim estimation, which involve prediction, can sometimes become complex and contentious. If it is your organisation which has suffered the loss, in order to develop a realistic appreciation of what a claim may be worth, it generally pays to engage an expert. Their fees are usually covered by the policy but it is also important to realise that choice of expert can make a substantial difference to your settlement size in that business interruption insurance is a specialised field, not always well understood by accountants coming to it only occasionally. You need someone who understands where insurance companies and loss adjusters are coming from in order to get your problem resolved as quickly and satisfactorily as possible.