My name is Steve Ryan and I wholly embrace my employer’s core principles:
- Do the right thing.
- Solution driven.
- Client focused.
For me, it’s a matter of character and integrity. Here is a case study on how I helped a client.
BACKGROUND:
Our insured owns the largest high-rise building on Main Street in Worcester. Smack dab in the middle of the holiday season, the day after Thanksgiving, they suffered an electrical control panel fire in the basement that filled 13 stories of their building with soot. Every square inch of surface area hand to be hand-cleaned with 5” sponges to get back to “normal”.
OBJECTIVE:
Get 28 commercial tenants back in their space as quickly as possible. The initial estimates ranged from 6 -8 months.
TRIAGE:
- On-site visit 4-days post-loss to get a lay of the land. Ever climbed 13 stories in a blacked-out stairwell only lit by your cellphone’s flashlight? A testimony to my Motorola G-Play – the battery lasted more than 3 hours.
- Arranged a meeting with the remediation vendor, electrical contractor, and insurance adjuster to coordinate efforts, set expectations and establish milestones.
- Garnered a $750k advance in week one on a 6-million-dollar projected loss so the insured could place deposits to get the vendors working.
GAMEPLAN (SOLUTION):
- Instructed the insured to set up a separate bank account and General Ledger account to track expenses and cash flow related to the loss.
- Contacted their 28 tenants to invite them to use our remediation vendor, so we didn’t have 29 vendors crowding the space. (Note: the tenant’s business personal property was their own responsibility). 26 tenants agreed with that logic.
- Met with the insured on-site, biweekly for the first two months to track progress and fine-tune the plan.
- Instrumental in keeping the funds flowing according to our plan and not being subservient to the carrier’s agenda.
EPILOGUE:
We were successful in getting the insured’s tenants to begin moving back in starting within 2 months and fully occupied before the end of 3 months. 50% ahead of projections.
Then getting the insured moved from “temporary” National Grid power to “permanent” was an ongoing struggle, replete with its own hurdles. Wrestling with National Grid, state and local inspectors and dragging the carrier to deliver on their “promise to pay” (the Insuring Clause of an insurance policy), we bumped into the tolling period on a property policy – 2 years in Massachusetts. We were able to negotiate a 6-month extension to ensure things got wrapped up.
In the words of Kermit the Frog, “it ain’t easy being green”. Accept your fate and move on; Green is good. I was glad to be party to a successful resolution in the face of adversity. I derive satisfaction and solace from the knowledge that I helped a client navigate through bad times.
I am humbled by their appreciation of me just doing my job and happy they perceive me as a worthy partner. I am grateful to IMA for the opportunity to do what I love.
