Introduction

An Insurance surveyor and Loss assessor is a person who is licensed by the Insurance Regulatory and Development Authority of India (IRDAI) to carry out a survey when an insurance claim is made and estimate the losses incurred in case of an accident or an untoward event. The Insurance surveyor serves as a link between the insurance company and the insured. Though surveyors are a link between the two, they are expected to do their job independently without being influenced by both parties. Insurance surveyors are appointed only for claims arising in the general insurance business and are not a part of the life insurance business. 

Qualifications Required 

If a person is interested in pursuing a career as an Insurance surveyor and Loss assessor, the following are certain eligibility requirements one must fulfil.

  • He/she must possess a degree or diploma in engineering or,
  • Must be a qualified Chartered accountant or,
  • Must be a member of the Insurance Institute of India.

For detailed information about specific eligibility requirements, please refer to Schedule I, Annexure 1 of IRDAI (Insurance Surveyors & Loss Assessors) Regulation, 2015.

Training and Exam

A person meeting the qualifications criteria can enrol for training with IRDAI. He/she must complete a training period of one year under a senior surveyor to appear for the examination for Insurance surveyor and Loss assessor. The exam is conducted online with one compulsory subject, i.e., ‘Principles of Insurance’. One can choose two other subjects depending on the individual’s qualifications. A minimum of sixty per cent marks are required to pass each subject. However, one can choose to appear in all the subjects together or according to their convenience. 

On successful completion of the exam, an application for an Insurance surveyor licence must be initiated with the IRDAI to provide services. 

Duties and Responsibilities

The IRDAI (Insurance Surveyors and Loss Assessors) Regulations, 2015 clearly mentions the duties and responsibilities of an Insurance surveyor. Every surveyor is expected to be thoroughly professional at work and maintain integrity. Let’s have a look at some of the key points.

  1. The prime responsibility of the Insurance surveyor is to investigate and validate the loss and determine to what extent the loss has been incurred due to an accident or contingency.
  2. Report the survey details to the insurer or the policyholder, depending on the case.
  3. Maintain a neutral stand at work to ensure that the interests of both the involved parties are not jeopardised.
  4. Disclose to the insurer if the surveyor and loss assessor is related to the policyholder in any way. If the surveyor is found to be related to the incident in any way, the insurance company may deny acceptance of the report submitted by the surveyor. Therefore, the surveyor must declare this beforehand to avoid any issues later.
  5. Conduct thorough inspection and re-inspections, if need be, to survey the loss incurred by the subject.
  6. Verify whether the policyholder is the property owner and has a genuine insurable interest.
  7. Provide valuable advice to the policyholder and the insurer to minimise further losses by following safe and secure measures.
  8. Take expert advice when required.
  9. Provide proper justification when a claim is repudiated, which means the cause of the loss is not covered under the policy. Therefore, the insurance company will not make any payment towards its settlement.
  10. Recognize if depreciation must be taken into consideration for a particular case.
  11. Suggesting on salvage and its disposal.
  12. Submit a report to the insurer as soon as the assessment is completed or within 30 days of the surveyor’s appointment.
  13. Ask for an extension from the insurer after intimating the insured if it’s a special or complicated case. Extension granted in such cases is not more than six months.
  14. Submit the report to the insurer after three reminders to the insured in case of incomplete submission of relevant documents.
  15. Provide additional reports within three weeks if the insurer finds the report incomplete in any aspect.

Insurance Surveyor Salary

Many people are interested in insurance surveyor jobs as it is a well-known career option. The average salary an Insurance surveyor and Loss assessor gets in India is around 20,827 rupees a month. It is around 2.5-3 lakhs per annum. Starters can expect to get somewhere around 8000 rupees a month. As Insurance surveyors are independent professionals, they are hired by insurance companies on a case basis and pay according to their standards.

Conclusion

IRDAI grants a surveyor licence to individuals as well as firms who wish to work in this field. However, if a surveyor fails to adhere to set regulations, the IRDAI can exercise its power and cancel the licence. Insurance surveyor jobs are very crucial for the insurance industry. A good surveyor maintains neutrality and works efficiently for fair settlement of claims. In addition to this, every surveyor must stay up-to-date and be well-aware of the amendments made, if any, by the regulatory authority.