Large Loss Report Template & Example

Large loss report no. 3, claim PC-2026-11482, insured D. Okonjo, 118 Harbour Lane. Covering 5 August to 14 August 2026. Previous report (no. 2) dated 4 August 2026. Next report due 4 September 2026, or earlier if the coverage question at section 9 is decided before then.

This file was reported as a routine water loss and moved onto the large loss cycle on 6 August 2026 when the contents appraisal at section 7 took gross incurred past $100,000. Report no. 1 was the captioned report of 22 July and report no. 2 the interim report of 4 August; both are in the file.

Gross incurred to date is $121,500 ($107,000 indemnity, $14,500 expense). Expected settlement range is $84,000 to $109,000 on indemnity, and the width of that range is entirely attributable to one question: whether the file is adjusted with or without reference to the repeated-seepage exclusion, which turns on the duration of the release.

The cause of loss is established and not in dispute. The duration is not established and, on the evidence available, is unlikely to become established. I have spent $2,850 in expense trying to determine it and I do not recommend spending more.

Two things are asked for in this report. First, a decision from the examiner, with coverage counsel if that is preferred, on whether the exclusion is being pursued — the reserve, the contents negotiation and the timing of the next status letter to the insured all depend on it. Second, settlement authority of $110,000, against my current $25,000, so that the contents position can be closed within the next cycle if the answer to the first question is that the exclusion is not pursued.

14 Jul 2026 — Loss reported by insured. Discovery approximately 07:15.

15 Jul — Assignment received by R. Calloway. Insured contacted by telephone same day. Insured out of state 15-17 Jul, declined key release; inspection set for 18 Jul.

18 Jul — Inspection. Moisture readings taken, 47 photographs, contents inventory received from insured (14 cartons, unpriced). Fitting and supply line retained and tagged.

20 Jul — Referred to recovery unit for subrogation against Feldstrom Plumbing.

22 Jul — Captioned report issued as report no. 1, with the initial estimate, $18,340 RCV / $17,890 ACV. Reserves set at $19,000 indemnity / $2,500 expense.

25 Jul — Insured advised the stored cartons include a collection he believes is separately valuable and asked to have it appraised.

29 Jul — Reinspection with mitigation contractor. Insulation found saturated behind the kitchen cabinet run, not visible at first inspection. Estimate revision instructed.

4 Aug — Interim report no. 2. Revised estimate $47,880 RCV / $44,740 ACV. Reserves increased to $50,000 / $6,000.

5 Aug — Appraisal received from Marren & Doyle, book and manuscript specialists, instructed by the insured:

14 cartons contain 211 volumes, 38 of which are appraised individually. Total appraised replacement value $61,400.

6 Aug — File moved to large loss cycle. Reserves increased to $107,000 / $14,500.

7 Aug — Status letter issued to insured under the carrier's 45-day status cadence, stating the appraisal is under review and a decision is expected by 4 September.

11 Aug — Wentmore Plumbing Consultants reported on the duration question (section 5).

12 Aug — Roundtable (section 13).

14 Aug — This report.

Policy HO-4471903, term 1 March 2026 to 1 March 2027, in force at the date of loss. Premium paid to term; no lapse or reinstatement in the policy history.

Limits: dwelling $310,000; other structures $31,000; unscheduled personal property $155,000; additional living expense 12 months actual loss sustained. All-peril deductible $2,500, applied once to this occurrence.

Sublimits reviewed against the contents appraisal, since that is where the exposure now sits. No scheduled personal property endorsement is attached. No item on the Marren & Doyle appraisal is individually valued above the general UPP limit, and the aggregate appraised figure of $61,400 is well inside it. Ordinance-or-law and debris removal provisions are not engaged on the current scope.

No coverage position is taken in this report. The provision engaged is identified at section 9.

The cause is a failed braided stainless supply line to the water heater, which separated at the crimped fitting at the heater end. The fitting and adjacent line were retained on 18 July, tagged, and photographed as images 3-9. This is established and has not been contested by anyone.

The duration of the release is not established. The insured states the dwelling was last occupied at approximately 18:00 on Friday 11 July and that he found standing water at 07:15 on 14 July, an interval of roughly 61 hours. Moisture readings taken 18 July with a Delmhorst BD-2100 on the wood scale, on the slab at 4, 8, 12 and 16 feet from the utility closet, were 18.4%, 16.1%, 14.8% and 11.2%, against a baseline of 9.6% in the far bedroom approximately 40 feet from the source.

Three avenues that might have resolved duration were unavailable: there is no water sub-meter, the municipal supply is billed quarterly with the next read due in September, and there is no alarm or occupancy log at the risk.

Wentmore Plumbing Consultants were instructed on 6 August and reported on 11 August. Their conclusion, in short, is that the gradient across the four readings is consistent with a continuous release of many hours but does not distinguish a release of twelve hours from one of sixty, and that the drying that occurred between 14 and 18 July removes any prospect of narrowing it further. Their fee was $2,850.

I am recording duration as undetermined rather than estimating it. An estimate offered here would be read downstream as a finding, and the provision at section 9 turns on exactly this point.

Current building estimate: $47,880 RCV, $44,740 ACV. Depreciation $3,140, all recoverable on completion.

Movement since report no. 1:

22 Jul, initial — $18,340 RCV. Scope was 31 LF of drywall wet to 14 inches above slab on the south and west walls of the hallway and living room, base trim, slab drying, and the utility closet surround.

29 Jul, revision +$29,540 — At reinspection with the mitigation contractor, insulation behind the kitchen cabinet run was found saturated across 11 LF. The wicking was not visible at first inspection because the cabinet toe kicks are sealed and the finished surface was dry to the touch. The revision comprises removal and reset of the lower cabinet run, replacement of insulation and drywall behind it, replacement of the affected flooring transition, extended drying, and the associated paint break. Photographs 51-73 document the concealed condition.

No movement in this reporting period. Pricing is on the carrier's current price list for the ZIP code, dated July 2026. Scope and pricing are held as separate layers in the file; the scope sheet is unchanged from 29 July.

Unscheduled personal property. This is the coverage that made the file a large loss. At inspection on 18 July the affected contents were recorded as 14 cartons of stored books on the floor of the hallway closet, water-stained to varying heights and photographed individually as images 30-44. The insured's initial inventory was unpriced and I carried them at a nominal $1,400 in the first estimate.

On 25 July the insured advised that the cartons contain a collection he had inherited and believed to be separately valuable, and asked to have it appraised. The appraisal, from Marren & Doyle, book and manuscript specialists, was received on 5 August. It records 211 volumes, of which 38 are appraised individually and the balance in lots, with a total appraised replacement value of $61,400.

The appraisal has been received. It has not been reviewed, and it has not been agreed. I have asked the recovery unit's contents desk to identify a reviewer with rare book experience; that request is outstanding as at the reporting date. Points I want reviewed rather than accepted: the basis of valuation used, whether the individually appraised volumes were physically examined after the loss or valued from a pre-loss list, and whether any of the water staining is restorable rather than total.

Additional living expense. None claimed, and none expected. The dwelling remained habitable throughout — kitchen use was interrupted for six days during the cabinet work in early August and the insured did not claim it.

Other structures. Detached garage inspected 18 July, no intrusion, photographed as image 27. Nil.

Indemnity reserve, current $107,000. Prior $50,000, set 4 August.

Components: building $47,880 at RCV, plus contents at the full appraised $61,400, less the $2,500 deductible, equals $106,780, rounded to $107,000.

Basis: defensible worst case, not expected outcome. I have reserved contents at the full appraised figure although I do not expect to settle there, because the appraisal is the only valuation in the file and reserving below it would mean reserving to a number nobody has yet produced. My expected outcome on contents is materially lower and I will move the reserve when the review at section 7 gives me something to move it to.

Expense reserve, current $14,500. Prior $6,000.

Committed: Wentmore Plumbing Consultants $2,850, invoiced and unpaid. Mitigation contractor reinspection attendance $340, paid. Anticipated: contents review $3,500 to $5,000, subrogation counsel $4,000, further inspection and photography $800, balance for the reporting cycle itself.

What would move either figure. A contents review returning materially below $61,400 moves indemnity down, probably to the $84,000 to $92,000 area. A decision to pursue the exclusion at section 9 moves indemnity down substantially and expense up. A decision not to pursue it leaves indemnity where it is until the contents review lands.

One issue, and it is the reason this report is asking for a decision.

The policy contains an exclusion for loss caused by repeated or continuous seepage or leakage over a period of time. Whether it is engaged at all turns on the duration of the release, and duration is undetermined for the reasons at section 5. The evidence establishes an interval of roughly 61 hours between last occupancy and discovery, and establishes that the release occurred somewhere inside that window, but does not establish where.

What I am not doing here: taking a position on whether the exclusion applies. That is not the field report's job and a position taken now is a position that may have to be withdrawn.

What I need. A decision from C. Mendez, with coverage counsel if that is preferred, on whether the exclusion is being pursued on this file. If it is, a reservation of rights will need to issue and the insured will need to be told, which changes the content of the next status letter and probably the tone of the contents negotiation. If it is not, the file can be adjusted on the current scope and closed inside two cycles.

Date an answer is needed: 28 August 2026. That is early enough to be put to the insured well before the next status letter falls due on 21 September, rather than sending him a second holding position.

Wentmore Plumbing Consultants. Discipline: plumbing systems and water loss causation. Written authorization from C. Mendez dated 6 August 2026, scope limited to whether the duration of the release could be narrowed from the physical evidence. Fee agreed at $2,850 fixed. Report delivered 11 August, in the file. Invoiced 11 August, unpaid at the reporting date.

Marren & Doyle, book and manuscript specialists. Not our expert — instructed and paid by the insured. Their appraisal is in the file as an insured-supplied document and is treated as such at section 7.

Coastline Mitigation. Emergency service and drying, engaged by the insured before assignment. Invoice $4,180, reviewed against the drying log and the scope, and included in the building estimate rather than carried separately.

No other vendor engaged. No salvage vendor engaged and none warranted.

The water heater was replaced 11 months before the loss by Feldstrom Plumbing under invoice 20941 dated 3 August 2025, a copy of which the insured provided. The braided line appears to have been supplied and fitted as part of that work.

Theory: defective installation of the crimped fitting, rather than product failure. The two are not distinguishable on visual inspection alone, and the Wentmore report was scoped to duration rather than to the failure mode, so it does not assist on this. If recovery is pursued seriously the failure mode will need its own examination.

Evidence. The fitting and approximately 18 inches of adjacent line were removed on 18 July, tagged PC-2026-11482/E1, photographed as images 3-9, and are held in the branch evidence locker. Custody is with the branch administrator, L. Ferris. They have not been sent anywhere and have not been examined destructively.

Notice. Referred to the recovery unit on 20 July with a recommendation that notice issue to Feldstrom before any further examination, so that any inspection can be conducted jointly. Notice status as at the reporting date is with recovery; I do not have confirmation it has issued and have asked for it.

Salvage. None of value. The damaged volumes are being retained by the insured at our request pending the contents review, since their condition is itself evidence of the extent of loss.

The insured is not represented. No public adjuster has entered, no letter of representation has been received, and no contractor has presented an assignment of benefits.

No appraisal has been demanded by either side and none is presently indicated, since the building scope is agreed with the insured and the disagreement, if one develops, will be about contents valuation rather than about the cost to repair the dwelling.

No department of insurance inquiry. No litigation.

Worth flagging rather than leaving blank: the insured has been patient and cooperative, has produced documents on request, and has asked twice about timing. A file with an undetermined coverage question, a contents appraisal sitting unreviewed and a second holding status letter is the shape of file that acquires representation, and the decision requested at section 9 is the thing most likely to prevent that.

Roundtable held 12 August 2026. Attending: C. Mendez (examiner), R. Calloway (field), P. Adeyemi (claims manager), and D. Sharma from the contents desk for the first twenty minutes.

Range discussed: $84,000 to $109,000 on indemnity, assuming the exclusion is not pursued. No range was set for the alternative, because the roundtable took the view that a range for an exclusion that has not been decided is a number that would be quoted back later. That is recorded here as the reason the executive summary carries only one range.

The contents desk's view, given verbally and not yet in writing, is that a rare book appraisal prepared for an insured and based partly on a pre-loss list would normally be reviewed by an independent specialist before it is agreed, and that the review typically moves the figure. No figure was offered.

Authority currently held: R. Calloway $25,000. C. Mendez $100,000. Above $100,000 requires P. Adeyemi.

Authority requested in this report: $110,000, to R. Calloway, expiring 30 September 2026, conditional on the contents review at section 7 having been completed. The purpose is to allow the contents position to be closed within the next cycle without a second escalation, in the event the review returns near the appraised figure.

1. Obtain the examiner's decision on whether the exclusion at section 9 is being pursued. Owner:

C. Mendez. Needed by 28 August 2026.

2. Secure a rare book reviewer through the contents desk and instruct them in writing, with the scope points listed at section 7. Owner:

R. Calloway with D. Sharma. Target 21 August 2026.

3. Obtain written confirmation from the recovery unit that notice has issued to Feldstrom Plumbing, and the date. Requested 12 August. Owner:

recovery unit. Target 21 August 2026.

4. Approve and process the Wentmore invoice, $2,850. Owner:

R. Calloway. Target 18 August 2026.

5. Issue the next status letter to the insured on the carrier's 45-day cadence, 45 days from the letter of 7 August, carrying the outcome of items 1 and 2 if available. Owner:

R. Calloway. Due 21 September 2026.

6. Reassess the indemnity reserve once item 2 reports. Owner:

R. Calloway.

Next report: 4 September 2026, or immediately on the decision at item 1 if that comes first.

Anticipated completion of the adjustment: 31 October 2026. This date has moved once, from 8 August, and the reason is the contents appraisal received on 5 August. It is not moved in this report.