Adjuster’s suspicions confirmed by Appraisal Associates
An adjuster from an insurance company approached us about a $400,000 claim involving a stolen collection of fine art and antiques. The adjuster was suspicious of the claim and believed that the insured — a professional decorator — had failed to produce compelling evidence of value of the stolen art and antiques. The insurance company retained Appraisal Associates to establish the identity of the stolen items and estimate the replacement value for loss/claim purposes.

One of our appraisers interviewed the insured and reviewed the information provided to the insurance company’s staff adjuster. Through a combination of interviews, research, and appraisal techniques, our appraiser found that the stolen items were not, in all cases, what they were purported to be by the insured. As well, our appraiser discovered serious and inexplicable discrepancies in the provenance, information to refute claimed purchase prices, and market evidence to indicate the collective replacement value of the stolen items was less than half what was claimed. The insurance company dealt with the claim accordingly.