On March 16, 2009 a massive electrical fire broke out in this residential home located in New Port Richey, Florida causing an extensive amount of damage to the interior, exterior, and personal property. The owner, who was a full time contractor, initially wanted to pursue the claim himself, but soon found it to be such a daunting task as the insurance carrier sent out their own contractors and engineers who assessed the damage at $65,000. Upon receipt of the insurance carrier’s initial payment, the insured quickly realized that he could not have fixed his home for that amount as some of the damages missed by the insurance company experts were damage to windows, doors, roof structure, differences in the estimated amount of drywall damage, wet insulation, flooring damages, HVAC and electrical components. Other issues in dispute included damage to the owner’s personal belongings, which were grossly underestimated by the insurance company’s preferred contents restoration firm.
After deciding he needed further assistance with the claim, the homeowner decided to enlist the services of a professional public adjuster and retained Mr. Rick Tutwiler to help affect a proper settlement.
Shortly thereafter, Mr. Tutwiler made arrangements with his resources/professional experts and made multiple inspections of the damaged home noting the many discrepancies the insurance company representatives had made. After having prepared his own detailed loss and damage report, Mr. Tutwiler submitted the claim package to the insurance carrier and upon the insurance company’s review of the package, they assigned another adjuster to re-inspect the damages.
In conclusion, Mr. Tutwiler was able to successfully negotiate $110,000 on behalf of the homeowner for the loss and damage to the building structure and $65,000 for the personal property after the carrier’s $25,000 initial offer to the homeowner’s complete satisfaction.