Technical Loss Investigation and Claims Support for Insurers and Brokers

On technical assets, a claim comes down to engineering questions: what failed, why, how far the damage reaches, what reinstatement will cost, and whether anyone else is responsible. itmad provides technical loss investigation and claims support for insurers and brokers, establishing the cause and extent of the loss, assessing quantum and identifying the recovery position. The technical investigation and assessment that itmad provides is what loss adjusting and claims settlement depend on. itmad operates across the Middle East, Asia and Europe. Last reviewed: October 2026.

Why engineering matters in a claim

Good answers need someone who can read the plant as well as the policy. Working out why a transformer burnt out, a pressure vessel cracked or a structure collapsed is engineering, and it is the part of a technical claim that is most often handled thinly.

What itmad establishes

itmad establishes the cause of loss: the failure mechanism and the sequence of events that produced it, on evidence and not on the account of the insured. It establishes the extent of damage, separating what is actually damaged from what was already degraded before the event, which is usually the point on which settlement turns. Quantum is assessed as the cost of reinstatement or repair against a realistic scope and current costs, not against the first quotation obtained.

Where cover extends to business interruption, itmad provides the technical basis for downtime: equipment lead times, repair sequence and realistic return-to-service dates. On recovery, itmad looks at whether a third party's act, product or workmanship played a part, and what evidence would back a subrogation claim. Policy-relevant technical facts, covering maintenance history, operating conditions and compliance status, are reported factually so that the parties responsible for the coverage position can determine it.

Attending early

The evidence available in the first days is not there later. Damaged components get cleared, sites are made safe, and repairs begin under commercial pressure. Going early keeps the physical evidence, records the scene and secures failed components before they are scrapped, so that a finding can still be defended weeks later if it is challenged.

Claim types

Machinery breakdown and plant failure, property damage including fire and explosion, construction and erection all risks, marine, cargo and transit losses, electrical and electronic equipment, business interruption that arises from a technical loss, and product liability and defect claims all come within scope.

Reporting

An interim report is available where an early indication is needed for reserving. The full report gives the circumstances of the loss and the evidence examined, the technical findings on cause and extent with photographic support, and the assessed quantum with its basis and assumptions stated. It sets out the recovery position and what would be needed to pursue recovery, and it separates clearly what the evidence establishes from what remains uncertain. Reports are issued in the format that the instructing insurer or broker uses.

Independence

itmad holds no interest in the settlement. itmad does not carry out the repairs that it assesses, supply replacement equipment, broker insurance or act on a contingent basis. The technical finding is reported as found, including where it does not assist the instructing party.

Related services

Where the question is what caused the failure, damage assessment and expert reports cover it in more depth. If the dispute is about who is responsible, liability assessment deals with responsibility directly; if exposure needs assessing before any loss, risk engineering is the relevant service.

Frequently asked questions

What is technical loss investigation?

It establishes, on engineering evidence, what failed, why, how far the damage extends, what reinstatement costs and whether anyone else is responsible. Claims on technical assets turn on those questions, and answering them takes someone who can read the plant and not only the policy.

What does itmad establish?

It establishes why the loss happened, how much of the damage is new and how much was already there, what repair or reinstatement should cost, and the technical grounds for any business interruption downtime. It also identifies the recovery position and reports the technical facts that matter to the policy.

Why does itmad attend a loss early?

The evidence available in the first days is not available later: components get cleared, sites are made safe and repairs begin under commercial pressure. Early attendance preserves the physical evidence, records the scene and secures failed components before they are scrapped.

Which types of claim does itmad investigate?

Machinery breakdown and plant failure, property damage, fire and explosion, construction and erection all risks, and marine, cargo and transit losses. Also electrical and electronic equipment losses, business interruption from technical loss, and product liability and defect claims.

What does a technical loss report contain?

The circumstances of the loss and the evidence examined, the technical findings on cause and extent with photographic support, and the assessed quantum with its basis and assumptions. It also states the recovery position and separates what the evidence establishes from what remains uncertain.

Does itmad carry out the repairs that it assesses?

No. itmad holds no interest in the settlement and does not carry out repairs, supply replacement equipment, broker insurance or act on a contingent basis. The finding is reported as found, including where it does not assist the instructing party.