Fire in restaurant and flats: £190,000 cash settlement for landlord
Location Hampshire
Customer Mr P
The fire which broke out in the kitchen of a Greek restaurant in Hampshire, was described as an inferno. It raged for seven hours, with firefighters battling the flames and shoring up the building. The restaurant was completely gutted, and the five flats above were severely damaged. In addition, the Indian restaurant next door suffered superficial damage.
The entire building, including both restaurants, was owned by Mr P. As well as renting out the restaurants, he had also leased the flats to a local housing association. All tenants and residents had to move out.
Mr P knew he faced a very complicated insurance claim, with the additional problem of being under-insured. He felt very lonely and distressed and realised he needed professional help. He therefore turned to Morgan Clark to handle the entire claim for him.
The claim
Morgan Clark took over every aspect of the claim. This included dealing on Mr P’s behalf with all the parties involved: the insurance company and its loss adjuster; the housing association; the restaurateurs; and the tenants.
Morgan Clark’s experienced team of loss assessors were also very careful in the way they managed Mr P’s expectations for the settlement as he was under-insured. They worked hard to ensure he received the best possible settlement within the constraints of his policy.
The results
After a very difficult and delicate claim during which they worked closely with Mr P to explore the best way forward, Morgan Clark achieved a settlement of £190,000. This included the cost of re-instating the building and an element for loss of rent.
Mr P commented: “I have to say, from my heart, that Morgan Clark did a wonderful job. I couldn’t have done this by myself. I wouldn’t wish a fire on anyone but, if they did experience one, I would tell them to use the highly-professional services of Morgan Clark”.
Mr P has learnt from this experience and has now reviewed his insurance cover across all of his properties so that he is never faced with the problem of under-insurance again.