Building Material Wholesaler Rebuilds After Losing Millions
When a debris fire spread to the family-owned American Emperor flagship store, the building went up in flames with surprising speed
When a debris fire spread to the family-owned American Emperor flagship store, the building went up in flames with surprising speed.
We wanted to take the time and say thank you. Thank you for sticking with us and all the moving parts immediately after the fire. Thank you for assembling a top-notch team of experts to handle our claim. Thank you most of all for following through on your promises. After the devastating fire to our retail and distribution center, we were concerned about our long-term survival. Would the insurance cover our claim, would we be able to rebuild, would we lose all our customer base? The worst of every scenario ran through our heads. However, Adjusters International was there through it all. Your team immediately went to work leading the discussions and presentations to our insurance company. Adjusters International was able to match their in-house experts with the insurance company’s consultants and every step of the way; we knew Adjusters International had the upper hand. In just a matter of months, our complex multi-million dollar insurance claim was measured, presented and settled all as a result of the preparation and comprehensive approach put forth by Adjusters International. Our business was able to continue operations at a temporary location and by securing a fair compensation from our insurance company; the outlook for our business is looking bright. Had it not been for Adjusters International’s efforts, this certainly would not be the case.
Description
Twenty employees were evacuated in a fire that developed into a third alarm call in a matter of minutes. A cornerstone supplier to the construction industry in the area, the building and inventory suffered significant damage.
The most crucial job was to keep the business running in spite of the destruction of millions of dollars worth of inventory. Without a building out of which to run the business, they faced the potential loss of hundreds of regular clients.
Issues
The business was in danger of taking a significant financial hit, as it had no location in which to operate - no way
to maintain its customer base.
Millions of dollars of inventory and business personal property was destroyed, along with vital business records. The sheer volume of replacement was daunting, as was the recreation of the data lost – both necessary to resume operations and to quantify the insurance claim.
The insurance policy had an 80% coinsurance requirement (a risk sharing clause in the policy requiring American Emperor to carry an amount of insurance equal to 80% of their values) , which could have penalized the business and reduced the amount that they could collect.
Solutions Applied
Adjusters International team, having encountered similar scenarios hundreds of times before, immediately suggested alternative nearby locations – the cost of rental and outfitting to be paid under the extra expense portion of the policy. Quickly demonstrating that the cost of such an arrangement would cost the insurance company less than a total suspension under the business interruption portion of the policy, the insurance company agreed enabling American Emperor to retain both its customer base and its employees.
Adjusters International team avoided any coinsurance penalty by demonstrating that the property was insured to value.
Adjusters International took a two-pronged approach in addressing the inventory and business personal property loss: they negotiated for a reduced salvage value on the lesser-damaged business personal property and negotiated a flat fee for salvage. The Adjusters International team’s forensic accountants recreated a detailed picture of the business to guarantee the accuracy of the settlement, securing an agreement on the growth trend of the business.