Share a little bit about your company – its background, location, etc.
We are an art restoration company in Holbrook, NY who services “Brooklyn to Montauk” – the physical “Long Island”. We have been in business for six and a half years and have a team of nine people.
When did you first get the call about the loss? How did you land this job? Did you have a prior relationship, referral, online search, etc?
Paul Davis of Long Island called us in on the loss, while we did not have a prior relationship of working together, we have been to their offices in an attempt to develop a referral relationship.
We received a call on Monday afternoon around 1pm and were asked to get to the loss asap that day. A team of four was on-site by 3pm; did a walkthrough with the insured and family and worked until 8pm. Over the next two weeks, as directed by the mitigation and the insured, a team of six people spent six days on-site inventorying and packing out all art and collectible items.
Walk us thru the loss:
- What type of loss was it? How did it happen?
It was a large electrical fire that happened late on a Sunday night. - How much of the structure was affected?
While soot permeated through the entire home, two main bedrooms and bathroom upstairs were completed destroyed. - Did this require mitigation? Rebuild? Contents?
Mitigation did occur but the rebuild did not; the insured sold the house as is. Re contents, every attempt was made to salvage everything. The insured was a renowned artist in NY/CT, as well as an advertising executive; his life’s work was the main focus. - How big was the crew working on the loss, especially in the days immediately after?
See #2
What was the biggest challenge on this loss? What was the biggest win?
Gaining trust of the insured and his family as this was 60+ years of work, paintings, works on paper, objects, sculptures, wood carvings, advertising materials, children’s book renderings and so much more. The first few days were the key but the team, including the two owners who were on-site, quickly gained their trust. After a few weeks, the insured came to our studio to see how the art was stored; he was very happy!
What is the biggest lesson your team learned, good or bad, on this loss?
How to handle such a large volume of art from one loss, this was the first one of such a scale and allowed the team to formulate a plan for such large scale projects in the future. Since then, we have had several that were even larger.
How long did the restoration process take?
While thousands of pieces in total were taken from the home and were deodorized, several hundred were actually restored. This process took place over a year, as directed by the insured and family.
How was communication with the carrier/adjuster throughout the process? How long did it take to get paid in full?
The communication with the adjuster was excellent; at times, it was a three-way process (adjuster, insureds’ daughter and owner). The adjuster made payments throughout the process, with the last payment being made about 18 months from the date of loss.
Anything else?
Unfortunately, the insured passed away a year after the loss. We worked very closely with the family until the art was all delivered (there were several trips made to Westchester and Connecticut). This relationship developed into a friendship, Pete & Deana Caraballo were even invited to the memorial luncheon and the one year anniversary ceremony.
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