Many insurance claims are rejected due to a lack of evidence. Learn why insurers look favorably on video footage and the businesses that capture it.
A company purchases insurance because it accepts that every business model has its risks. There’s a policy to cover every eventuality, from customer and employee theft to trespassing, vandalism, arson, and beyond. Some sectors, like the construction industry, face greater risk than others when it comes to onsite crimes, which makes having insurance a priority.
Putting coverage in place can also have a detrimental effect, however. That’s because they lull businesses into a false sense of security and overconfidence, because they feel that any losses or damage will be covered by their insurer. The truth is that it’s never that easy.
This guide will explain how adding the best video surveillance to your site can be the perfect partner to insurance claims.
The insurer’s point of view
Any business owner who has ever tried to file a claim knows getting an insurer to honor a policy can be a real struggle. Insurers are inundated with claims, and many of them are false – leading to billions of dollars in annual losses for the industry. Worker’s compensation fraud alone costs insurers and employers $30 billion a year!
Insurers are understandably suspicious and slow to pay out. This is especially true when it comes to business claimants who stand to make more money from insurance fraud than most. Policy providers need to be convinced as fully as possible that a claim is legitimate. That’s because:
- A smashed window and an empty safe don’t prove a business was robbed.
- A smoking ash pile where a store used to be isn’t sufficient evidence of an arson attack.
- It’s all after the fact, and even the most vehement witness testimony may not be enough to sway a claims inspector.
- Let’s get real – it almost definitely will not be enough when submitting your insurance claim!
If you didn’t take any steps – such as adding locks, alarms, lighting, and surveillance – toward securing your company’s premises, insurers may even see you as indirectly complicit in a loss or damage even because you made your business an open-door target for criminals. The burden of proof thus falls on the business owner to do all they can in providing the kind of verification that makes insurance companies sit up and take notice.
Risk from the site’s point of view
We’ve mentioned that theft, arson, vandalism, trespassing, and worker fraud can all hurt a business. There are other risks out there, too, such as:
- A fire
- Other natural disasters
- Liability claims made against you by staff or visitors who were injured while on your site
- Traffic accidents
- Damage to builds in progress
These are the top 5 claims for the construction sector, but any business model could be hurt by the preceding four. The average cost of an injury claim alone is $30,000. Liability can spiral as the business pays for medical costs, attorney fees, lost wages, and pain and suffering – some of which could end up as lifelong expenses.
Your business is exposed from without and within, managers can’t be there 24/7, and onsite security staff can’t overcome their inherent weaknesses when working alone. This is where visual security monitored by offsite experts can provide superior results.
Film your site for improved insurer relations
It’s video surveillance footage that can provide what insurers need to see in every one of the aforementioned negative scenarios. That includes:
- How a fire started
- The handiwork and hopefully the faces of thieves, trespassers, and vandals
- Whether someone claiming injury really did get hurt in the way they said and at a particular place and time
Clear video footage can shield against liability and remove a huge amount of insurer doubt as to the veracity of an insurance claim while exposing fraudsters that otherwise could have cost a business a fortune. It may even remove doubt completely. Either way, surveillance film can lead to a much faster and more successful insurance claim.
Two further insurance bonuses: deterrence and improved reaction times
Adding monitored video surveillance to your site can do more than improve insurance claims after loss or damage takes place, too. It can act as a deterrent that may stop the crime happening in the first place, for example. This is just one of the financial benefits of installing a video surveillance system.
Doing so impresses your insurance provider by showing you’re being proactive about security, going the extra mile to protect yourself, and preventing a situation where they’ll have to pay out. Insurers may even lower your monthly premiums since you’re a reduced risk, especially if cameras are combined with other security measures like alarms and high-quality smoke and fire detection.
One final advantage of having off-site surveillance is speed, because insurance claims go smoother the faster a claimant acts. Having trained security agents watching your property means someone can immediately interact with suspicious parties onsite and/or swiftly alert authorities to the situation. This has the double benefit of limiting the extent of a negative incident while providing further proof to insurers that the situation was contained as quickly as possible.
Speak to the surveillance experts with any questions
If you’re in the market for improved security solutions that can also improve insurance claims, Mobile Video Guard is standing by to answer any questions you have about protecting your site. We can help you decide which measures to take and provide a personalized site plan that will position cameras for optimal visual results.
All our solutions can be tailored to your needs and budget, and our fixed monthly costs mean our customers enjoy security savings of between 60% and 90%. Contact Mobile Video Guard and speak to an expert today!
