My name is Steve Lazarus, and I’m the founder of The Claims Desk, a company that helps you as a consumer to get “every penny you deserve” from your claim with an insurance company. That includes loss associated with theft, fires, flood, and storm damage for both residential and commercial properties in the UK.
But I’m getting ahead of myself. For those who don’t know me especially well, here’s a little bit about me and why I chose to start The Claims Desk. On the family side, I’ve been married 26 years to my lovely wife, Suzanne, who works as a teacher for children with special needs.
Together, she and I have two children. One is a student at university and the other is working full-time as a hairdresser. We live in NW London on the outskirts, in a suburb called Mill Hill. I’m told it once actually had a mill, though at this point, it’s just a rumour.
At some point down the line, I realized I was helping the wrong team. There was a lot about working for insurance companies that felt morally dubious at best. I started The Claims Desk to help consumers get the money they deserved.
On the career side of things, I’ve been dealing with insurance claims for almost 25 years. For the first 15 years, I worked on behalf of insurance companies as a Loss Adjuster, which means I evaluated insurance claims. For the latter 10 years, I’ve been working as a Loss Assessor on behalf of the policyholder in my own business.
So, what prompted the change? It’s not hard to spot that I switched teams. That I went from the dark side to the light side (or vice versa, depending on your perspective). That I’m, as I’ve heard some people put it, a “poacher turned gamekeeper.”
Well, at some point down the line, I realized I was helping the wrong team. There was a lot about working for insurance companies that felt morally dubious at best, especially when claims were improperly handled or denied that seemed perfectly legitimate. I had enough of it and resigned to start The Claims Desk, where I could help consumers get the money they deserved. That’s infinitely more rewarding to me.
In retrospect, I should have quit earlier, but I’m quite glad I didn’t do it any later! Even though I quit and started The Claims Desk with no clients, I’ve successfully built it up over time using my expertise in insurance claims and generating word-of-mouth referrals. Most people aren’t unlucky enough to need our services twice (or at all, hopefully), but all of you with any property can benefit from greater knowledge about insurance and the insurance industry.
I’ll share plenty of testimonials with you in the future, but this is just a taste of why I do this job: I had an old friend whose property was flooded due to the brutal storms we’ve seen in the UK recently. He came to me for help, because his insurance company wasn’t going to give him a penny! We had to take the case to the ombudsman, who sided with us. We just got the cheque, and when I saw how happy my friend was, it reminded me that these are the moments that make my job worthwhile.
These days, I have an office that literally opens up on the garden, and I get to spend my time helping people. Roughly half of my time is on-site where the damage took place, and half of it is in the office.
One more thing I’ll mention here: We don’t get paid a penny until our clients get their settlement, and then we take a modest percentage for payment. Unlike insurance companies, I’m always aligned with the best interests of my clients.
Thanks for checking out my newsletter. You should also feel free to visit my website at theclaimsdesk.co.uk.
All the best,
Steve Lazarus
