Park Slope, Brooklyn Historic Townhouse Fire – Property owner receives an increase of $1,067,499.00 (208%) for building damages with the Help of United Public Adjusters & Appraisers, Inc.
In January 2017, a homeowner was alerted to a fire on the upper floors of her home and fortunately made it to safety. The fire investigation uncovered that the contractor who had recently repaired the wood flooring left stain and/or oil-soaked rags within the unoccupied unit which caused a fire by the stain rags spontaneously burning. While this was an accident, the next steps were for the property owner to report the fire damage to her insurance company. Once reported, the insurance company expressed their sympathies and ensured she was in good hands. As weeks passed after the fire, the property owner no longer felt that the insurance company had her best interest in mind so she reached out to Philip Maltaghati of United Public Adjusters & Appraisers, Inc. for guidance.
Upon our firm being retained, we began to document and evaluate the extensive property damages to the original, but extremely well-maintained plaster finishes, custom architectural millwork, and mahogany/maple/walnut/oak wood flooring. After our firm presented a well-documented and supportive estimate for building damages and took numerous inspections, the insurance company brought out their own building estimator who was not familiar with the Park Slope, Brooklyn finishes which resulted with a low-ball building offer of $513,201.72. The policyholder and our firm were extremely disappointed as the insurance company estimator repeated over and over that he was familiar with NYC construction and landmark Preservation Commission guidelines, but with an inferior building estimate being offered to us, it was obvious that the insurance company and their “experts” lacked the experience and knowledge to handle a complex fire loss.
Considering the huge difference between our submitted claim for building damages and the insurance company offer, a Demand For Appraisal was made by the insurance company. After months of back and forth between the two appraisers, the Building Appraisal Award was signed and the policyholder received an increase of $1,067,499.00.
While many residential and commercial property owners are not aware of what a Public Adjuster is, Education is key when negotiating and preparing a claim for damages with your respective insurance company. United Public Adjusters & Appraisers, Inc. ONLY Represents the Policyholder, NOT the insurance company! Who is your Property Loss Advocate? Please call our firm to discuss your Property Damage Claim and see if we can be a resource as it’s never too late for us to get involved!
We have offices in NYC and Long Island and can be reached at 718-641-5677 (LOSS) or 866-418-9121 (LOSS) or Help@UnitedPublicAdjusters.com
