Restaurant/Tavern Property Damage Claims
As the owner of a restaurant or tavern, your livelihood depends on your doors being open for business. If you have experienced property damage from a disaster, you need to be thinking about keeping those doors open, not worrying about how to handle insurance claims. Since 1946, our licensed public adjusters have lifted the burden of managing insurance claims on your own. We evaluate and document not only the physical damage to your property, but also the income lost from business interruption.
My restaurant that had been a landmark in San Juan Islands for decades was destroyed in a terrible fire recently. I really did not know where to begin the rebuilding process. I was blessed to have met you and the other team members of Adjusters International. Your Contents Specialist did a fantastic job of recreating all the burned and out of sight inventory. You worked magic with the insurance company on the business interruption and extra expense claims. Adjusters International helped me recover. I considered myself fortunate to have hired such a high caliber team of experts that are professors of insurance. While I don’t wish such a disaster on anyone, no one should be foolish to undertake the daunting task of taking on their insurance company without the help of a public adjusting firm like Adjusters International.
-
1
You just suffered serious damage to your restaurant or tavern and are wondering what to do next.
-
2
You call your insurance company and wait for an adjuster to come out, hoping they will have your best interests at heart.
-
3
You move from the asset side of your insurance company's ledger to the liability side.
We Can Help
Knowing everything you possibly can about the "fine print" of your insurance policy before you have any substantive dialogue with your insurer is an absolute necessity. Know what you are covered for and how to claim it. What you say to your insurance company's adjuster and how you say it can make a dramatic difference in how much you get paid. The more you know, the better the results.
Restaurant/Tavern Property Damage Claim Factors To Consider
Be sure to understand each of the following factors before engaging with the insurance company. Knowledge is the key to a successful claim outcome.
- What is my broker's/agent’s role?
- Does the adjuster work for us or the insurance company? Why they can't work for both. Conflict.
- Warranties and Protective Safeguard requirements. What do they mean? Can I still collect if I am not in full compliance?
- Is there coinsurance in my policy? What does it mean?
- What happens if I open my business elsewhere and I am successful? What if I am not successful?
- How is actual cash value determined? Why should I care?
- What happens when the insurance company engages a forensic accountant? Who does that accountant work for?
- What are extra expenses? What can be included? Can I use extra expenses to offset shortfalls in property coverages?
- I own multiple restaurants in a geographic area and sales go up at other locations as a result of the fire. Does the insurance company get the credit?
- Can I compensate employees who help with cleaning or restoration?
- Replacement properties. Lease purchase strategy. Is it good for me?
- Replacing versus repairing equipment/processing lines. Pros and cons.
- Is the insurance company using an independent building or equipment consultant to prepare a bid? Who are these consultants? Who are they working for? Do they only work for insurance companies?
- How quickly can I get started rebuilding?
- How does my policy address increased costs due to new codes? If my coverage is limited, what can I do about it?
- How do smoke and the water used to fight the fire affect my machinery? Equipment? Computers? Other electronics?
- What does Title 24 and handicap access mean to you and your claim?
- Credit for continuing sales. How are they calculated?
- Can I continue to pay my employees?
- What is the extended period of indemnity, and how does it work?
- Does the insurance company pay for professionals necessary to evaluate my claim? Are they working for me or them?
- What are expediting expenses? How do they differ from extra expenses?
- How do I project lost sales? Sales declines?
- Can I use proformas/budgets to calculate loss of income?
- Can I recast my financial statements? If so, why?
- Temporary locations? What happens at the end of my claim?
- If my restaurant is not destroyed but the hotel units adjacent are, will my business interruption pay for my loss of sales due to no hotel being available?
The Difference Public Adjusters Make
We work exclusively for YOU, not the insurance company. Our insurance professionals have managed and negotiated thousands of claims for nearly every type of natural and man-made disaster. Local in our approach, we have over forty offices across the U.S. and Canada, and an unmatched network of expert resources to efficiently mobilize and be at your side.