The Situation
A fire broke out at a multi-unit apartment complex in Mesa, Arizona, causing damage that extended across several units within the building. The property owner faced not only the physical destruction from the fire itself but the secondary effects that follow a loss of this scale in a multi-family setting, including smoke migration, water intrusion from suppression efforts, and disruption to multiple tenant spaces at once.
The insurance company assigned an independent adjuster to handle the claim on its behalf. That adjuster worked the file and the insurer ultimately issued an undisputed payment. The problem was that the amount left the property owner without enough funding to complete the necessary repairs, stalling the restoration process and leaving portions of the complex in an unresolved state.
The Insurance Company's Response
The independent adjuster assigned by the insurer processed the claim as a standard loss, but lacked the experience needed to properly scope a large, complex multi-unit fire claim. The resulting valuation did not account for the full scope of damage across the affected units and building systems, which left the property owner well short of the funds required to complete repairs.
What the Insurer Got Wrong
The insurance company's initial assessment offered just $639,946, failing to account for the full scope of damage to the property.
What We Found
Once the property owner engaged Apex, the firm conducted multiple site inspections alongside outside experts to build a complete and defensible claim package. The goal was to capture the full scope of the loss that the original adjuster's report had missed, unit by unit and system by system.
The Result
The claim package Apex assembled resulted in a settlement of $1,368,440.86, up from the insurer's original undisputed payment of $639,946.52. That is a 114 percent increase in the value of the claim, representing $728,494 in additional funds recovered for the property owner beyond what the insurance company had initially paid.
Settlement Secured
We increased the settlement from $639,946 to $1,368,440, recovering an additional $728,494 — ensuring the property owner received full compensation for all damages.
