Southeast Leads Claims According to 2013 Annual HVAC Claims Report

Despite the widespread damage caused by Superstorm Sandy, the number of HVAC claims in the Southeast still accounted for largest percentage of total HVAC claims for 2013 with 29 percent according to a report released by HVAC Investigators (HVACi), a company that provides insurance carriers across the country with heating, ventilation and air conditioning (HVAC) damage assessments.

The 2013 Annual Claims Report, provided to insurance carriers across the country, revealed several trends that may help carriers make more informed decisions on their specialty HVAC and refrigeration claims.

The 2013 Annual Claims Report provides critical industry statistics regarding: reported damage versus actual damage, recommended settlement actions, repair versus replace frequency, recommended repair action by category and frequency of claims per geographic region.

“The impact of Superstorm Sandy is certainly reflected in the 2013 report, but the data clearly points to the ever-present disparity between reported cause of damage and what actually happened,” said Matthew Livingston, HVAC Investigators’ manager of customer education. “Because of the complexity of HVAC claims, and the technical expertise required to accurately diagnose true cause of damage, it can be difficult for carriers to settle those claims consistently without outside assistance.”

The 2013 report also suggests that HVAC claims represent a significant opportunity for insurance carriers who lack HVAC formal education or subject matter expertise to leverage third-party, objective investigations to improve their claims accuracy – particularly in light of ever-changing market influences, including equipment price fluctuations, regional labor rates, parts availability and the looming EPA regulations on the use of R-22 refrigerant.

The next report, revealing statistics from the first half of 2013, will be released in the third quarter.

Reported Damage vs. Actual Damage

• 34 percent of all systems evaluated in 2013 were ultimately diagnosed as “wear and tear,” “not damaged,” or “claim withdrawn.”

Repair vs. Replace Frequency

• More than 8 out of every 10 claims investigated by HVACi resulted in a repair recommendation to bring the insured back to pre-loss condition or weren’t damaged at all.

Repair Action by Category

• HVACi’s specific repair action varies widely based on the type of damage sustained by the HVAC equipment. “Lightning,” “hail,” and “theft/vandalism” are the three most common types of reported claims, and were sub-categorized based on recommended repair action. In each category, the frequency of recommended “minor” or “moderate” repairs was significant.

Frequency of Claims by Geographic Region

• Despite the widespread damage caused by Superstorm Sandy, the number of HVAC claims in the Southeast still accounted for largest percentage of total HVAC claims for 2013 with 29 percent, immediately followed by the Southwest at 26 percent. The Northeast region accounted for 16 percent of all claims, up from 9 percent in the previous reporting period (the first half of 2012).

The data was compiled using the actual results of thousands of HVAC insurance claims investigations across the United States.

The report is free and available at request by emailing info@hvacinvestigators.com.

Source: HVAC Investigators