The verdict in three sentences
A loss adjusting firm with 10 to 80 adjusters and 3,000 to 30,000 instructions a year is judged by insurers on turnaround times and report quality, under service level agreements that are now tied to FCA Consumer Duty expectations on fair and timely claims handling. Off-the-shelf claims software (EUR 80 to 150 per adjuster per month) is enough while your clients and processes stay standard. Once re-keying between insurer portals, reserving spreadsheets and word processors exceeds 20 minutes per file, custom software at EUR 60,000 to 120,000 (about GBP 51,000 to 102,000) pays for itself in under three years.
Insurer SLAs: what the software must deliver
In London, insurers and MGAs set their own SLAs for acknowledgement, first contact, site visit and report submission, and score adjusting firms on them. Lloyd's market claims add their own data standards, and Consumer Duty requires firms to evidence that customers are not harmed by delays. (In France, the equivalent framework is the IRSI and CIDRE conventions, with IRSI tier 1 up to EUR 5,000 and tier 2 from EUR 5,000 to 60,000.)
| Step (2026 order of magnitude) | Deadline often required by insurers | What the software must automate |
|---|---|---|
| Acknowledge the instruction | Within 24 h | Electronic intake, automatic allocation |
| First contact with policyholder | Within 48 h | SMS booking, reminders |
| Site visit or remote inspection | Within 5 to 10 days | Geographic scheduling, built-in video |
| Preliminary report | Within 15 days | Report pre-filled from the mobile visit |
| Final report and reserve | 30 to 45 days depending on complexity | Price library, depreciation, excess, policy rules |
| Tolerated share of late files | Under 10 % | Alerts and dashboard by adjuster |
A firm that consistently misses these thresholds loses volume to better-equipped competitors, often without formal warning.
Off-the-shelf or custom software
| Criterion | Off-the-shelf claims software | Custom software | Legacy in-house tool and spreadsheets |
|---|---|---|---|
| Upfront cost | EUR 5,000 to 20,000 setup and migration | EUR 60,000 to 120,000 | Already written off |
| Recurring cost for 30 adjusters | EUR 2,400 to 4,500 a month | EUR 1,200 to 2,500 a month (hosting + maintenance) | Unpredictable maintenance |
| Electronic instruction intake (insurer portals) | Standard connectors | Chosen connectors, enriched with your rules | Re-keying |
| Offline mobile visit | Depends on vendor | Yes, photos, sketches, measurements, signature | Paper then typing |
| Reserving and depreciation | Generic tables | Your scales, your rules per insurer | Spreadsheet |
| Report per insurer | Limited templates | Template for each client | Copy and paste |
| Time to go-live | 2 to 4 months | 5 to 7 months | Not applicable |
Budget by module
- Instruction intake and allocation (15 %, EUR 9,000 to 18,000): electronic intake, allocation rules by area, skill and workload.
- Scheduling and policyholder contact (10 %, EUR 6,000 to 12,000): SMS booking, video, automatic reminders.
- Mobile visit app (25 %, EUR 15,000 to 30,000): geotagged photos, sketches, measurements, dictation, offline mode.
- Reserving and policy rules (20 %, EUR 12,000 to 24,000): price library, depreciation, excess, applicable cover.
- Reports and submission (15 %, EUR 9,000 to 18,000): templates per insurer, one-click generation, electronic return.
- Management, fee billing and testing (15 %, EUR 9,000 to 18,000): turnaround by adjuster, work in progress, scale-based fee billing.
Mini case study
Charlotte, partner at a 30-adjuster firm in London, handles 12,000 instructions a year. Her adjusters lose an average of 30 minutes per file to re-keying and report formatting: 6,000 hours a year, about EUR 240,000 at a loaded cost of EUR 40 an hour. Her current software costs EUR 3,600 a month. She invests EUR 95,000 in custom software and cuts re-keying to 8 minutes per file: 4,400 hours freed, about EUR 176,000 of capacity, which she turns into 15 % more instructions without hiring. With EUR 2,000 of monthly maintenance instead of a EUR 3,600 subscription, recurring savings reach EUR 19,200 a year. Even counting only a quarter of the capacity gain, EUR 44,000, the investment pays back in about 18 months.
Need a professional website?
Kolonell builds websites that attract clients, optimized for the Sénégalese market. Free quote in 2 minutes.
FAQ
How much does custom loss adjuster software cost in 2026?
Budget EUR 60,000 to 120,000 (about GBP 51,000 to 102,000) depending on the number of insurer connections, reserving complexity and the mobile app. Hosting and maintenance add EUR 1,200 to 2,500 a month.
Can it receive instructions from insurer portals?
Yes, it integrates the electronic feeds insurers use and returns reports and status updates through the same channel. Each additional connector usually costs EUR 3,000 to 8,000 depending on available documentation.
Does it support Consumer Duty evidence?
Yes, every contact, delay and decision is timestamped, and dashboards show turnaround by adjuster and by insurer. This gives you the audit trail insurers increasingly request in 2026.
How long to move the whole firm over?
Allow 5 to 7 months: 4 weeks of scoping, 3 to 4 months of development, a 4 to 6 week pilot with one team, then history migration and rollout.
Are policyholder photos and data GDPR compliant?
Yes, with UK or EU hosting, role-based access, retention aligned with limitation periods, often 6 years in England, and logged access.
Let's scope your project. Send us your number of adjusters, annual instructions and main insurer clients: we will price software between EUR 60,000 and 120,000 with a 5 to 7 month plan. Detailed quote within 48 h. WhatsApp +221 77 596 93 33.
Mohamed Bah
Fondateur, Kolonell
Passionate about digital and entrepreneurship in Africa, Mohamed has been helping Sénégalese businesses with their digital transformation since 2020. Founder of Kolonell, he believes every SME deserves a professional and accessible online présence.
