C. Gielisch

What C. Gielisch does

C. Gielisch GmbH is an independent, family-owned loss-adjuster and claims-assessment firm headquartered in Düsseldorf, Germany, founded in 1918 and now operating across three generations. The firm engages on behalf of insurance companies, brokers, corporate/industrial clients, courts, and public-sector bodies to investigate, scope, and quantify insured losses, with an on-site workforce of 80+ specialized adjusters supported by a wider staff of approximately 180+ employees across 15 German offices plus locations in Hungary and Switzerland. Service lines span the full claims lifecycle — including fire, water, storm, hail, theft, fraud, business interruption, engineering, motor, aviation, liability, inland-waterway, and highly specialized practices in wind energy and food/agribusiness — delivered through formal complaint, expert-opinion, and loss-adjustment methodologies with documented service-level standards and a sales-led client-engagement motion.

Two subsidiaries extend the platform beyond traditional adjusting. GCM (founded 2000) provides desktop claims handling, complex-claims management, and litigation-support services to legal-expense insurers and industrial clients (including e-commerce platforms), reaching a 25-year operating milestone in 2025. GIA (founded 2021) was set up to analyze indoor pollutants and contaminants, opening an environmental-analytics vertical adjacent to insurance loss work. The firm also co-founded the vrs Adjusters international network, which today spans 300+ offices across 140 countries and provides C. Gielisch with reciprocal cross-border adjusting capacity for international claims.

Operationally, the firm documents losses using Matterport 3D scanning technology and in 2025 launched a joint project with the Fraunhofer Institute to develop an AI-supported internal knowledge pool intended to surface learnings from the firm's 100+ years of structured claims data. Revenue mechanics are not publicly disclosed and operate on a professional-services fee-for-engagement basis, with contracts sourced via direct sales to insurance carriers, brokers, corporate risk managers, and legal channels. C. Gielisch is privately held by the Gielisch family, with a managing-director bench now including Lars Gielisch and Claas Peitz (appointed March 2024).

Name

C. Gielisch

Legal name

C. Gielisch GmbH

Website

https://gielisch.de

Company type

Private

Founded year

1918

Operating status

Operating

Headcount range

11–50 employees

Short description

C. Gielisch GmbH is a family-owned, independent German loss-adjuster and claims-assessment firm (founded 1918, Düsseldorf) serving insurance carriers, brokers, corporate risk managers, courts, and industrial clients across 15+ German offices plus Hungary and Switzerland, with two subsidiaries (GCM desktop claims, GIA pollutant analytics) and a 100+ year track record.

Ownership category

akta.pro rank

Product category

Insurance Loss Adjusting & Claims Assessment Services

NAICS

Claims Adjusting (524291), Agencies, Brokerages, and Other Insurance Related Activities (5242)

SIC

Insurance Agents, Brokers & Service (6411)

akta.pro primary industry

Insurance Claims, Property Loss & Business Interruption Valuation (BPAHANAM)

akta.pro secondary industries

Payment Integrity, Audit, Appeals & Grievance Support (BPAAAFAJ), Marine Surveying, Inspection & Claims (EDAOANAO), Claims Advocacy & Loss Recovery Services (FSAEADAH)

Keywords

• Insurance loss adjusting
• Claims assessment services
• Property damage surveyors
• Marine cargo claims
• Fine art valuation

Headquarters

HQ city

Düsseldorf

HQ country

Germany

HQ region

Europe

Offices17 records

Markets served

GTM type

B2B

Offering type

Services

Cost components

Personnel, Operations, Infrastructure, Technology or R&D, Marketing or Sales

Revenue model

1. Loss Adjusting and Claims Assessment Services: Professional fee-for-service revenue from providing independent claims expertise, expert witness services, and loss adjusting for insurance companies, brokers, and industrial clients. Services include damage assessment, policy review, settlement recommendations, and claims handling across all major insurance lines.
2. Desktop Claims Processing (via GCM Subsidiary): Gielisch Claims Management GmbH subsidiary provides desktop claims processing, staffing, and loss adjustment services, operating as a complementary revenue stream to the parent company's field-based assessment services.
3. Pollutant Analysis Services (via GIA Subsidiary): Gielisch Institut für Analyse GmbH (GIA) subsidiary provides investigation, analysis, and assessment of pollutants and microbial contamination in buildings, generating revenue from specialized laboratory and analysis services.

Pricing tiers

Go-to-market motion2 records

Distribution channels3 records

Marketing channels5 records

Core offering

C. Gielisch GmbH is an independent loss adjusting and claims assessment firm that deploys expert surveyors and loss adjusters to loss sites across Germany and abroad to assess damages, prepare expert opinions, review policy coverage, recommend settlements, and serve as expert witnesses for insurance companies, brokers, and industrial clients. The service portfolio spans 15+ insurance lines including liability, property, technical, business interruption, marine cargo, hull, fine art, wind energy, film/TV/media, event cancellation, cyber, and international claims. Desktop claims processing is delivered through subsidiary GCM, and pollutant/microbial contamination analysis through subsidiary GIA.

Product overview

C. Gielisch GmbH operates as a unified platform of loss adjusting and claims management services with two specialized subsidiaries. The core offering consists of expert claims handling across 15+ insurance specializations (liability, property, technical insurance, business interruption, marine cargo, hull damage, fine art, wind energy, film/media, event cancellation, cyber, and international claims), coordinated through a network of 80+ experts across 15 German offices and international partnerships in 140 countries. The platform is supplemented by Gielisch Claims Management GmbH (GCM) for desktop claims processing and staffing, and Gielisch Institut für Analyse GmbH (GIA) for pollutant/microbial contamination analysis. Technology services include Matterport 3D scanning for damage documentation and an AI-based knowledge pool developed with Fraunhofer-Institut for data-driven insights.

Differentiator

Problem solved

Functional benefit

Products and services

• Loss Adjusting Services Comprehensive loss adjusting services acting within international insurance programs: damage assessment, expert opinion preparation, policy review, and settlement recommendations. C. Gielisch serves as nominated loss adjuster for major corporate clients and insurers via the vrs Adjusters international network.
• Liability Claims Services Assessment of domestic and international liability claims for insurers and industrial/commercial clients. Covers public liability, professional indemnity, product liability and recall claims, motor vehicle liability, environmental liability, and multi-claimant damages, delivered by 60+ loss adjusters specializing in construction and industrial losses.
• Property Claims Services Loss adjustment services for commercial and industrial property losses in Germany and internationally. Team of 50+ building experts and 15+ machinery experts across Germany, with specialists for business interruption losses and the ability to form interdisciplinary teams from a pool of 80+ experts for complex losses.
• Technical Insurance Loss Adjusting Engineering insurance loss adjusting requiring specialized subject-matter expertise. Covers machinery damage assessment, construction works insurance, and assembly-related damage evaluation. 80+ loss adjusters operate across the related areas with interdisciplinary project teams for major losses.
• Business Interruption Adjusting Calculation of consequential costs from partial or complete business interruption following damaging events. A three-member specialist team works closely with building, content, and machine damage experts for major multi-trade losses.
• Marine Cargo and Carrier's Liability Adjusting Assessment of national and international goods damage for road, air freight, sea and rail transport. 25+ marine experts serve insurers, freight forwarders and the shipping industry, covering consumer goods, raw materials, temperature-controlled transport, pharmaceuticals, wind power technology, and heavy cargo shipments.
• Hull Damage Services Assessment of damage to ship structures (hulls), machinery and technical equipment for ocean-going and inland vessels, yachts, motorboats and sailboats. Services include average incident intervention, salvage sale, hold inspections, and condition reports across European waterways.
• Fine Art Loss Adjusting Expert assessment of fine art damages with a decades-long reputation. Services include verification of loss circumstances, quantum assessment, restoration management, artwork evaluation, and coordination of claims management. Special expertise in contemporary art, led by CEO Claus Gielisch as a publicly appointed and sworn expert.
• Wind Energy Claims Services Expert claims handling for wind energy losses across all relevant insurance lines. An interdisciplinary team of engineers specializing in wind power technology, mechanical engineers, civil engineers, and industrial engineers provides proactive claims management to reduce downtime and mitigate damage.
• Film / TV / Media Production Claims Processing of national and international production damage for feature films, documentaries, TV series, commercials and photo productions. Covers damage to film negatives, image/sound/data carriers, props, sets, wardrobe, extra expense, completion bonds, and business interruption losses.
• Event Cancellation and Special Risks Adjusting Management of damage from event failure or cancellation including concerts, tours, open-air events, sporting events, and trade fairs. Services cover event cancellation, non-appearance, equipment damage, property damage, venue unavailability, and special risks with rapid response capabilities.
• Cyber Claims Services Processing of cyber losses across all lines of business in cooperation with permanent external IT partners. Services include cause investigations, evidence preservation, damage assessment, system restoration evaluation, and major-claims project team formation.
• International Claims Services Worldwide claims handling through the international vrs Adjusters network of 300+ partner offices in 140+ countries. Central coordination from Düsseldorf headquarters provides a single point of contact, multilingual support, and reporting in German or English.
• Gielisch Claims Management GmbH (GCM) — Desktop Claims Management Wholly-owned desktop claims processing, staffing and loss adjusting subsidiary. Offers comprehensive claims handling for property, liability, motor insurance, marine cargo, personal injury, and loss adjusting. Multilingual services including English, French, Italian, and Spanish; first major customer was eBay (handled all incoming complaints in 24-hour shift operations).
• Gielisch Institut für Analyse GmbH (GIA) — Pollutant & Microbial Contamination Analysis Investigation, analysis and assessment of pollutants and microbial contamination in buildings. A highly qualified team performs site inspection, measurement concepts, sample taking, laboratory analysis, evaluation, and restoration monitoring. Specializes in water damage, mould, wood-decaying fungi and insects, indoor air sampling, building pollutants, and fire residue contaminants.
• 3D Damage Documentation Services (Matterport) Matterport 3D laser scanning combined with 360-degree photography to capture interior spaces and objects with millimeter precision, creating accurate three-dimensional models for digital and interactive property documentation that supports virtual loss inspection and remote assessment.

Quantifiable outcome

• Order confirmation within 24 hours
• +4 more outcomes

Named customers29 records

Segments3 records

Ideal customer profiles3 records

Technology focussed No

API detail

Has API

No

API docs

API detail

Core technology

AI maturity

App detail

AI capability1 record

Feature2 records

Partnerships

Four partnerships are on record, tiered core and strategic.

• vrs AdjusterscoreStrategic or Co-development Partner · 1 January 2009C. Gielisch GmbH is a founding member of the international vrs Adjusters network under the company name vrs gielisch. The network includes over 300 partner offices in 140 countries providing fast, effective, and smooth worldwide claims service. Gielisch serves as the single point of contact for international claims while deploying local qualified surveyors through the network.
• Fraunhofer-InstitutstrategicStrategic or Co-development PartnerJoint AI project with Fraunhofer-Institut to develop an enterprise-internal knowledge pool using AI to make company data more efficiently accessible and promote Big Data learning - intelligent, secure and scalable.
• Swiss Claims Service GmbHcoreChannel Partner/ Reseller/ Distributorvrs gielisch / Swiss Claims Service GmbH operates as the Swiss branch office in Gütighausen, Switzerland, providing local claims services under the vrs gielisch brand.
• Gielisch Hungaria Kft.coreChannel Partner/ Reseller/ DistributorGielisch Hungaria Kft. operates as the Hungary branch office in Budapest, providing local claims services and representing the company in the Hungarian market.

Scale indicators10 records

Recent moves10 records

Expansion highlights6 records

Broad incumbents

• Davies Group: Global professional services and technology firm serving insurance and financial services with claims solutions including loss adjusting, TPA, and managed services. Compares to Gielisch in offering independent claims expertise at scale across multiple lines of business.
• Sedgwick: One of the world's largest independent claims management, loss adjusting, and TPA firms. Directly comparable to C. Gielisch in providing property, liability, marine, and specialty claims services to insurers, with much broader geographic scale but less specialization in the DACH region.
• Charles Taylor: International claims services and loss adjusting group with strong European presence. Provides independent adjusting and TPA services across marine, aviation, property, and casualty, overlapping directly with several of Gielisch's specialties including marine and aviation.
• Crawford & Company: Global claims management and loss adjusting leader serving major insurers and corporates. Comparable to Gielisch in providing independent loss adjusting across property, casualty, and specialty lines, with extensive international network overlap via the vrs ecosystem.

Others

• Allianz SE: One of C. Gielisch's largest named clients (and a competitor for in-housed claims handling). Listed here as a peer because Allianz's internal claims organization directly competes with independent loss adjusters on volumes that could otherwise flow to firms like Gielisch.

Direct peers

• McLarens: Independent global loss adjuster offering property, casualty, marine, energy, and specialty claims adjusting services. Highly comparable business model to C. Gielisch — independent, expert-led, serving insurance carriers across multiple verticals — competing head-to-head on complex commercial losses.
• vrs Adjusters: International loss adjusting network of which C. Gielisch is a founding member (operating as 'vrs gielisch'). The network spans 300+ partner offices in 140+ countries and competes/co-operates with Gielisch depending on assignment geography — the closest single comparable as both a peer network and partner.

Emerging players

• ControlExpert: German technology-driven claims management firm specializing in automotive and property claims automation. Represents the digital-native disruption direction the German claims market is taking and competes with GCM's desktop claims processing offering.

Regional players

• Roland Schutzbrief-Versicherung: German legal-protection insurer that also operates claims services. While primarily a legal-expense carrier, its in-house claims handling is a regional alternative for liability and motor liability claims that overlap with some Gielisch services in the German market.
• Bavaria Re: Munich-based reinsurer and claims service provider active in German-speaking markets. Comparable in serving insurance clients with risk and claims expertise, though from a reinsurance/audit perspective rather than field loss adjusting.

Market position

Strengths5 records

Weaknesses5 records

Competitive moat5 records

Key risks6 records

Key highlights7 records

Customer concentration

Compliance2 records

Revenue estimate

Valuation estimate

Number of profiles

Profiles3 records

Subsidiaries2 records

Funding overview

Funding rounds

Investors

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M&A

Investments

M&A and investment is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →

Frequently asked questions about C. Gielisch