HVAC Investigators Releases 2014 Annual Claims Report

HVAC Investigators (HVACi), a national provider of heating, ventilation and air conditioning (HVAC) damage assessments to insurers, recently published its 2014 Annual Claims Report. Provided to insurance carriers across the country, this report provides data on HVAC trends that can help carriers make more informed decisions on their specialty HVAC and refrigeration claims.

The 2014 Annual Claims Report includes critical industry statistics, including: Reported Cause of Loss vs. Actual Cause of Loss, Frequency of Repairs vs. Replacements, Recommended Repair by Cause of Loss, Frequency of Claims by Geographic Region, and Claimed Cause of Loss by Month.

The report was based on the actual results of thousands of residential and commercial HVAC insurance claims investigations across the United States in 2013, and serves as a barometer for emerging trends and paradigms in the industry.

“We’re excited about the new data that this year’s report provides,” said Matthew Livingston, HVAC Investigators’ Manager of Customer Education. “For the 2014 Report, we’ve introduced statistics related to Frequency of Coverage by Age of System, and Claimed Damage by Month. We’re confident this will provide additional insight to insurance carriers searching for better ways to settle HVAC claims.”

The 2014 Annual Claims Report affirms that insurance carriers should seek to improve their claims accuracy, whenever possible, with the help of qualified, objective professionals – particularly in light of ever-changing market influences, including equipment price fluctuations, regional labor rates, parts availability, pending changes to SEER rating requirements and the eventual phase out of R-22 refrigerant.

Highlights of the 2014 Annual Claims Report:

Reported Cause of Loss vs. Actual Cause of Loss
In 2013, 27 percent of all claims investigated were ultimately diagnosed as “Wear and Tear,” “Not-Damaged,” or were “Withdrawn” by the insured after initial contact.

Residential and Commercial Accuracy
The average claims accuracy was $3,689 per residential claim and $39,072 per commercial claim in 2013. Based on the average variance per claim, a typical property insurance carrier had a total potential claims accuracy of more than $20,000,000 in 2013, had they engaged an outside HVAC claims expert.

Repair vs. Replace Frequency
Nearly nine out of every 10 claims investigated by HVACi last year resulted in a repair recommendation to bring the insured back to pre-loss condition…or weren’t damaged at all.

Claims by Geographic Region
HVAC claims in the Southeastern states (29 percent) accounted for the largest percentage of total claims, followed closely by the Southwest states (17 percent), and the Mid-Atlantic states (12 percent).

The report is free to insurance professionals, upon request, by emailing info@hvacinvestigators.com.

Source: HVAC Investigators