As secretary of the Institute of Public Loss Assessors I cannot allow the articles and comments (9 May, Insurance Times) to pass unanswered.
For nearly 40 years the institute has been acting on behalf of these people and has built a reputation of being professional and caring. For most of these years the Chartered Institute of Loss Adjusters (Cila) has treated us with disdain and I am surprised that it has now shifted its views which can only be put down to the fact that the loss adjusting profession is under fire and has lost a large number of its members in recent years.
The institute has for many years been trying to persuade the insurance companies to meet our fees. We feel that the presentation of a claim can save a considerable amount of time and effort for all concerned, even though I accept it may mean a higher settlement to the claimant because my members understand the policy conditions.
On behalf of the membership I think I can say that I am pleased to see that at last we may be being accepted for the useful organisation we are, rather than the way we have been treated in the past.
All institute members are dedicated to the interest of their clients and, in fact, the institute has recently introduced CPD to ensure that its membership remains in touch with the many changes that are taking place in the industry.
I shall be interested to hear from those who still feel that we do not have a role to play in this matter.
J D Turberville
General secretary
Institute of Public Loss Assessors
Send letters to: Insurance Times, 30 Cannon Street, London, EC4M 6YJ
or email andy@instimes.co.uk or fax : 020 7618 3499
