Heater Fire Update - August 2011

In November of 2010, we had a heater fire in our brick and mortar store. Nine months later the insurance company has not settled our claim. Even though we have negotiated and agreed, our inventory is still sitting in storage pods in our parking lot.  Among other things, we have not been reimbursed for our extra expenses. We are not a multi million dollar conglomerate; just a mom and pop store that has manged to stay in business for over 41 years. We have done our homework by hiring a public adjuster and recently filed a claim with our state insurance commission.  In some states there are laws that require insurance companies to settle claims in a specified time frame; unfortunately our state is not one of them.
Yes, we have received  partial reimbursements. How else could we have manged to make in today's economy?  However, our busiest time of the year is almost here and we don't relish the thought of loosing another season.
We will keep plugging away, writing letters, sending emails, and making phone calls until our insurance company decides to honor our negotiated settlement. 
I do know one thing.  We will make it because Mike and I will not have it any other way.

You've come a long way baby!

 Over 4 months go we had a heater fire in our store. Everything from ceilings to walls to floors had to be replaced..  The remodeling work is finished.  We have our c/o from the township. 

So, we spent the last couple of days cleaning, scrubbing, and reassembling shelving, racks and showcases.  Everything has to be cleaned and cleaned and cleaned.  At one point, I even had to crawl inside the showcases to clean them. 

Our contractors did a suburb job. 

However, we are still waiting for our first new order to arrive.  And still waiting to settle with our insurance company.