$50 Million Insurance Claim Recovery for Mississippi Furniture Manufacturing Plant after Multiple Fires

$50 Million Insurance Claim Recovery for Mississippi Furniture Manufacturing Plant after Multiple Fires

A thriving furniture manufacturing plant located in NE Mississippi builds 3,500 sofas, loveseats and recliners each day out of its 1,000,000 square foot facility. The finished goods are stored then shipped from the warehouse to numerous retailers nationwide.  In January of 2018, an accidental fire occurred destroying 400,000 square feet of the insured’s building, along with almost $10 million of finished goods and raw materials. The insurance company was immediately notified and promptly investigated the claim. Over the course of several weeks, numerous experts were hired by the carrier who subsequently helped to conduct an investigation of the damages. Unhappy with their insurance company’s initial settlement offer, the owners decided to retain the professional services of Tutwiler & Associates to help document, adjust, and facilitate an expeditious resolution of their insurance claim. In October of 2018 and February of 2019 two additional fires occurred that were both determined to be arson. The October fire destroyed an additional 400,000 square feet and the February fire destroyed 90,000 square feet of the insured property. One suspect was charged in the third fire. Throughout the multiple losses we worked with the insured as part of their team to maintain their manufacturing and shipping by utilizing multiple remote warehouses. All additional costs were included in the claims, and to date the insured has received over $50 million for their losses. Another satisfied Tutwiler client!

Note: Here is our pre-settlement narrative.

Public Adjuster Tutwiler on the Ground for Large Industrial Fire Loss

Tutwiler and Associates Public Adjusters & Loss Consultants were again called on to represent one of this country’s largest furniture manufacturers* after a severe fire damaged the facilities. This corporation with over 1,000,000 sq. ft. of plant production, storage space, receiving and shipping areas is unprecedented in its scope of operation and markets for its unique brand of handmade furniture products.

Seven hundred (700) people are employed at this facility, and while the cause of this fire is still under investigation our client is busy securing space to get operations back on track and keeping the welfare of its trusted employees at the forefront by trying to protect their jobs during this very difficult period.

Our public adjuster team flew to Mississippi as soon as we got the call from our client and is on the ground starting to determine the extent of the damages, meet with the various insurance company adjusters and claim representatives who are handling the various layers of coverage, to review the policy terms and conditions that are unique to this client. We have been told that in some cases adjusters for the different layers of coverages on this loss are being pulled off Hurricane Michael assignments in the Florida Panhandle and being reassigned to this loss due to the monetary size of the expected settlement as well as with its many complex insurance adjusting issues.

This is the second fire Tutwiler & Associates has been retained to represent this client. Another catastrophic fire to this facility occurred in March of this year and while the cause of that fire was ruled undetermined, (likely from an employee smoking) the settlement was close to being completed when this most unfortunate second loss occurred.

Given the scope of this fire and the attention it is being given, by many cause and origin fire experts, including Federal ATF investigators, we feel comfortable that a cause will be determined during the investigation. which will allow the insured to regain the ability to meet their customers’ high demands for these products.

We are also very pleased this client again turned to Tutwiler & Associates Public Adjusters to assist with this very large complex loss and claim. Hurricane’s Michael and Florence may have put a stain on the insurance industry for qualified adjusters but at Tutwiler we are just a call away, then on our way to assist our clients.     

* For confidentiality purposes we do not share the name of the client while an investigation is underway.

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  • $50 Million Insurance Claim Recovery for Mississippi Furniture Manufacturing Plant after Multiple Fires
  • $50 Million Insurance Claim Recovery for Mississippi Furniture Manufacturing Plant after Multiple Fires
  • $50 Million Insurance Claim Recovery for Mississippi Furniture Manufacturing Plant after Multiple Fires

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Tutwiler & Associates Public Adjusters, Inc.
Licensed Public Insurance Adjusters & Loss Consultants
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