Hotel Owner Retains Florida Public Adjuster to Assist With Fire and Soot Damage Claim

A fire significantly damaged many areas of a boutique hotel in Sarasota, Florida. Many of the guest rooms and the entire restaurant was damaged by fire, smoke and soot. The hotel owner retained our Florida public adjuster team after it was decided that many of the damaged items would be cleaned and not replaced during the claim process.

Here’s what happened: Firefighters from three different municipalities, as well as a hazardous materials team, responded to a call of a gas leak and fire at the hotel’s restaurant. The three-alarm fire caused several million dollars in smoke, soot and fire damage that spread throughout the hotel. The insurance company sent out a nationally advertised restoration company to assess the claim and damage. Being in the business of restoring damaged items, the company notified the owner that the damaged items should be cleaned and refinished, not replaced.

Alarmed, the owner contacted our public adjuster firm and hired us to take over. Needless to say, we knew that the items should not be cleaned. Our adjusters and fire damage experts quickly went to work. The work involved in properly documenting and validating our position took several weeks but paid off. The fire claim was paid $2.5 million and the owner was able to replace all the contents with new items of his choosing.

Here’s the moral of the story: never allow the insurance company or its representatives to remove fire and smoke damaged items from your home without first contacting a reputable public adjuster.