As we approach the winter season, we are all starting to turn on our heat, bundle up, pull out those space heaters for our drafty basements and turn on the heated blanket at night. While all the above are effective ways to stay warm during the winter months, it’s important to note that all of these methods of warmth are major contributors to the origin of commercial or residential house fires.

» Read the rest of this Success Story...

Statistics show that 5% of structural fires or one in twenty are caused by cigarettes. On the late morning of May 21, 2020, an apartment landlord in the Pittsburgh area found out what it was like to become part of that statistic. Once the smoke cleared, he turned to his insurance company for help, where he quickly realized they weren’t the “good neighbor” they made themselves out to be. Then he turned to a trusted insurance claim adjuster also known as a public adjuster.

» Read the rest of this Success Story...

In the early morning hours of March, 2020, the homeowner (now residing out of state) received a call notifying him that his home caught fire destroying everything. After confirming that his ex and his son were safe, the insured notified his insurance company of the fire loss. While filing the claim the homeowner was asked a few basic questions that apparently raised a red flag with the insurer. Three days later he received a Reservation of Rights (ROR) letter. The ROR letter is used to notify a policyholder that the insurance carrier is investigating the claim and is issued to reserve the insurance company’s right and or preserve any timelines of state statutes to deny a claim at the conclusion of the investigation. The letter stated that “the investigation has revealed that you were not occupying the residence premises at the time of the above noted loss.” It was obvious the insurance company was making an issue of this as a reason to deny the claim.

» Read the rest of this Success Story...

In February of 2019, the owner of a popular family Italian restaurant in Pittsburgh and his employees cleaned up for the night and headed home not knowing that when they locked the doors, it would be for the last time. What happened over the next number of months became a lesson in what can happen with what appears to be a straightforward property insurance claim and why it can help to have a public insurance adjuster advocating for you.

» Read the rest of this Success Story...

On September, 2016 a property owner who owns a significant amount of property in the Wilmerding area of Pittsburgh all insured with one particular insurance company for close to 27 years, reported a claim after noticing the exterior brick on one of her apartment buildings were beginning to fall. Her insurance company replied that they were sending out one of their trusted engineers to view the property and inspect the structural integrity of the wall. Upon meeting with the policyholder’s contractor and inspecting the building, the engineer informed the woman and her contractor that the wall (in his opinion) was safe. Some time passed after the inspection and the property owner received a letter from her insurance company stating that their engineer had confirmed no real damage had occurred to the building, therefore the claim is denied. In this letter was a report written by the engineer stating his findings along with a proposed repair method. 

» Read the rest of this Success Story...

On May 28, 2019 a catastrophic hail storm hit the Pittsburgh suburb of Gibsonia. The golf ball sized hail that struck and damaged homes, buildings, cars anything it came in contact with. Over the next few days, contractors converged on the area knocking on doors and telling property owners they needed new roofs “just sign here” and we’ll file an insurance claim for you. Rather than doing the smart thing and call their insurance company to file a claim, some homeowners who had not dealt with a loss like this went along. As insurance company representatives visited their policyholders in the area, there was no question that all of the roofs needed to be replaced due to the hail damage. 

» Read the rest of this Success Story...

On November, 2018 a Pittsburgh woman returned to a flooded home due to a water leak. The women decided it would be best to call her insurance agent, ask for advice and if this was something that her insurance would cover. She was instructed to file a claim and was referred to a preferred vendor of her insurer to mitigate the damage. Over the next few days arrangements were set up for the woman to temporarily stay in a hotel while she watched her home torn apart from top to bottom becoming virtually unrecognizable. 

» Read the rest of this Success Story...

On August 25th a Pittsburgh family of 3 were away enjoying a fun filled family vacation when they received a call from a neighbor that quickly turned their sunshine to clouds. The neighbor called with the horrible news that their garage door was mysteriously open and water was pouring out onto the driveway. At this point panic had sunk in as they had no idea what they were going find when they returned home. The family decided it would be best to call their insurance agent, report the claim and ask for advice to see if they were covered. The agent quickly assured them that they were going to be OK, reported the claim for them and had an insurance company preferred restoration contractor scheduled to mitigate the water damage. Following the phone call with their agent they packed their belongings and knew that it was time to head home to deal with the unfortunate accident. What transpired is a lesson that can benefit all policyholders. Sometimes it pays to have an independent professional look at your claim.

» Read the rest of this Success Story...

On February 21, 2018 the policyholder experienced a category 3 water loss in her Carnegie, Pittsburgh home from a broken stack pipe that runs from the second floor bathroom through the kitchen, which in return sent sewage throughout these areas of the home. Immediately upon noticing the damage the homeowner called a restoration company to mitigate the damage and called her insurance company to report the damage. Not knowing what other options she might have, she followed her insurance company’s instructions and sent their claim adjuster a few days later to inspect the loss.

» Read the rest of this Success Story...

A real estate owner of multiple properties experienced a 3 alarm fire at one of their apartment buildings located in the Hill District area of Pittsburgh on November 2016.  The building suffered significant fire, water and smoke damage. Upon reporting the loss to its insurance carrier, multiple adjusters were sent out to inspect the loss and the insurance company immediately assigned an outside company specializing in large losses to handle the claim.  This adjuster prepared a repair estimate that (in the opinion of the apartment owner) did not cover the cost to cover the value of the building and the hidden structural damages that were apparent. It became obvious that the repair estimate ignored parts of the building not directly affected by the fire, but were still subjected to massive amounts of smoke and water damage. 

» Read the rest of this Success Story...