Another area that valuators can work is insurance, usually to estimate the amount a business has lost due to something unforeseen like a fire or a flood. A typical policy contains business interruption coverage, which provides coverage for your lost profits and continuing fixed costs. For that we need information. If the records have been destroyed, we might have to obtain bank statements from the company's accountant or bank, or go to the suppliers and get replacement invoices and statements and piece everything together. From Gain's point of view, the most important thing is that a valuator be brought in as soon as possible after the problem occurs, because it's a lot easier and quicker to compile the information at the beginning than six months down the road.
Family law is another highly specialized branch of business valuation.
This involves the intangibles of a business such as good will and brand acceptance, and it is at this kind of experienced judgement that valuators really shine. Penner points out that although it would seem logical to have both parties pay for the valuation, especially when both lawyers agree, there can be problems with sharing a valuator, a situation referred to as a joint retainer. For one thing, if there are allegations of undisclosed income, one side will want to spend whatever it takes to find it, while the other side wants to spend as little as possible. These kinds of concerns are why only about 10 per cent of family valuations are done with a joint valuator. The good news, however, is that almost 95 per cent of family law cases settle out of court.