Will I get paid for my property loss? How long will it take?
These are just two of the most pressing questions pawnbrokers ask. Most pawnbrokers would agree that it makes perfect business sense to buy insurance to protect their property, and the property of their clients. The main question most pawnbrokers ask is “will I get paid?” and “how long will it take to be reimbursed by the insurance company?"
In the event of a loss, to receive replacement cost on those items involved in the claim, the policyholder has the responsibility to provide their insurance company with detailed records of what property was lost. This will provide the necessary information the carrier would need to expedite the claim. If the policyholder is unable to do this, they will not be reimbursed by the insurance company for the claim, irrespective of the insurance carrier through whom they may be insured. Therefore, it is imperative that the pawnbroker has the ability to document what property they keep in their store(s) at any time.
When discussing this process with most operators, many tell us that all of their inventory records are kept in their safe(s) or computer(s). When asked what they would do in the event all of their records were destroyed in a major fire, they have no response. In these cases, if the pawnbroker can’t reproduce the inventory records for their store, they probably should save their money and not insure those items.
Without question, the best way for a pawnbroker to protect their store is to keep detailed inventory records in a safe place, away from your store. Ideally, these records should be kept via a computer program of some type, backed up to a CD, external hard drive, thumb drive, etc., each evening and stored off-premises.
Many pawnbrokers have horror stories of claim problems that they’ve encountered. In the majority of cases it is not the insurance carrier creating claims difficulties – rather the problem often lies with the insured’s inability to come up with the proper inventory records.
It is a ‘best business practice’ to ensure that your inventory records are accurate, and stored in a safe, offsite location. Store owners should commit themselves to following these procedures which will make their claims process much easier and generate a quicker response from the insurance carrier.