Is a Structural Engineer Truly Independent?
A Case Study
Prospect, Kentucky experienced an EF‑0 or EF‑1 tornado last week. Conor and I went up there to see for ourselves the extent of the damage. A couple of homes had their roofs blown off, and others received some damage from trees falling on them. Thankfully, no one was hurt.
From there, we went over the Ohio River to Jeffersonville, IN, to the subdivision of Brook Hollow. The houses there took a pretty good beating, too. As I was walking around surveying the neighborhood, I talked with one of the property owners. Based on my brief visual assessment of the house, I asked him if the adjuster had mentioned anything about bringing a structural engineer out to the property and inspecting for structural damages.
He looked kind of surprised (like I was clairvoyant or something) and said that, in fact, he had. The adjuster told him that he was going to bring an independent engineer out to the home to examine the structural integrity of the home. He told the owner he would be back in touch to schedule such a visit.
Key Takeaways
Let’s break this down. First, is the engineer truly independent and impartial? Second, Can the homeowner expect an unbiased opinion about any structural damage? My answer to both questions is best phrased as a very simple question: Who is paying the engineer? The answer to that question tells you all you need to know.
That engineer is part of the underground fraternity whose job is to work alongside the insurance companies to help them meet their objectives, i.e., to keep settlement payouts to a minimum. As you can see, the carriers do all they can to stack the deck in their favor, knowing that this is the first time a property owner has gone down this road which they’ve been down thousands of times before. It’s another reason why policyholders need to consider “leveling the playing field” by getting some professional help on their side of the claim.
