Adjusters International/Basloe, Levin & Cuccaro Helps Increase Wilbert’s Insurance Settlement Amount After Devastating Fire
Wilbert’s, a prominent three-location automotive recycling operation across Western and Central New York, suffered a devastating fire to a new 10,000-square-foot building at its Williamson location. As this building was the center of business for that location, Adjusters International/Basloe, Levin & Cuccaro (AI/BLC) immediately established temporary solutions to mitigate the losses and also developed strategies and objectives to make sure Wilbert’s received an optimal insurance settlement.
They were extremely easy to work with, and obviously experts at what they do. It was a night and day difference how they interpreted our insurance contracts and negotiated our settlement. There’s no way I’d go through a fire insurance claim without somebody of their caliber — it would be like going to court without a lawyer.
Description
A new 10,000-square-foot building at Wilbert’s Williamson location suffered structural damage from a large fire. A customized racking system and equipment, proprietary technology, records, and numerous auto parts were also destroyed.
Issues
- The building was the heart of that location’s operations — the source of its income and client retention. Maintaining operations with minimal delay was key.
- The building was the heart of that location’s operations — the source of its income and client retention. Maintaining operations with minimal delay was key.
- Wilbert’s operations are specialized and include proprietary processes for auto recycling, which needed to be documented and explained clearly to the insurance company to make sure they understood how to cover the damage.
- The business had several insurance policies, all of which had to be efficiently worked into harmony so that Wilbert’s wouldn’t lose recovery amounts.
- As a larger business with three locations across Western New York, transparency and concise communication were vital throughout the claim process to make sure management could understand and strategize with our public adjusters on the best settlement options for bigger-picture business goals.
Solutions Applied
Adjusters International/Basloe, Levin & Cuccaro took a proactive lead in quickly acquiring trailers and setting up a temporary operations location and selling point so that Wilbert’s could accommodate the continuous flow of customers and vehicles arriving throughout Western and Central New York. As a result, business income loss was mitigated.
Multiple insurance policies were in play for Wilbert’s. Our public adjusters quickly became knowledgeable and fluent in each, and then applied each coverage to the claim to ensure the best possible settlement for Wilbert’s.
Throughout the process, our public adjusters translated auto recycling language for the claim and carrier. We consistently communicated with the carrier to help them understand the full scope of damage — given Wilbert’s customized equipment, proprietary operations, and extensive inventory and records — and what needed to be put into practice correctly to obtain a successful settlement.
Our public adjusters helped Wilbert’s management understand their various coverages while presenting settlement options that could positively impact the business as a whole in the long term.
Outcome
Our public adjusters made sure Wilbert’s stayed in control throughout the entire insurance claim process. Shortly after the fire, we helped utilize their coverage to get their business back up and running so employees and customers weren’t lost and cash reserves weren’t strained.
Meanwhile, Adjusters International/Basloe, Levin & Cuccaro negotiated a significantly higher settlement amount for Wilbert’s from their insurance company. Our public adjusters also helped present the option for management to use this higher settlement amount to build a brand-new building that improved upon the previous building and its operations. Wilbert’s decided to take that option.