Maximizing Your Property Insurance Settlement After a Spring Storm
Each spring, the Midwest experiences a familiar rhythm: the air warms, trees begin to bud, and suddenly, without warning, dark clouds roll in, winds pick up, and storms strike. From hailstorms in suburban Michigan to flash floods in downtown Chicago, the month of May marks not only the peak of nature's beauty but also the beginning of one of the most damaging weather seasons of the year.
What makes spring storms particularly dangerous is not just their intensity, but their subtlety. Often, the damage isn’t immediately visible—but that doesn’t mean it isn’t there. What appears to be a minor storm can leave behind hidden destruction that only reveals itself over time, resulting in extensive damage that may not be covered by an initial claim.
A Hypothetical Yet All-Too-Familiar Scenario
Consider a commercial building owner in Western Michigan. They experience nothing more than a typical spring hailstorm—20 minutes of heavy ice, followed by clear skies. The insurance carrier promptly sends an adjuster, issues a check, and the process is thought to be complete.
Months later, however, leaks begin to appear. HVAC systems lose efficiency, and tenants start complaining. What was originally written off as “minor cosmetic damage” has now evolved into something far more serious: a compromised roof system and extensive internal deterioration.
Without professional guidance, the building owner attempts to address the new issues on their own. When they contact the insurer about the additional damages, the insurance company insists that the original settlement was sufficient and claims the new issues are unrelated to the storm.
As the owner investigates repair costs, it becomes clear that the expenses far exceed the original settlement. The insurer’s initial, quick assessment didn’t account for the long-term consequences of the storm. The owner is left to shoulder substantial out-of-pocket costs, dealing with ongoing repairs and an incomplete recovery.
When Globe Midwest™ Adjusters International Gets Involved
In contrast, had the commercial building owner reached out to Globe Midwest™ Adjusters International before finalizing the settlement, the outcome would be different.
Our team would have performed a detailed forensic inspection, uncovering damage the insurance adjuster missed, including:
- Roof membrane punctures likely to result in future leaks
- Subsurface structural compromise invisible to the untrained eye
- Water infiltration that could lead to mold, wood rot, and additional deterioration
Armed with comprehensive documentation and a deep understanding of the policy language and local claims practices, our public adjusters would have gone to work—negotiating directly with the insurer on the owner's behalf.
The result? A settlement several times larger than the initial offer—enough to restore the property thoroughly and properly, without cutting corners or draining the owner’s resources.
Spring Storms Are Inevitable. How You Recover Isn’t.
Spring storms are a fact of life across the Midwest. Their arrival is inevitable—how you prepare and respond is not.
As the Midwest’s largest and oldest public adjusting firm, Globe Midwest™ Adjusters International exclusively represents property and business owners during the property insurance claim process. Our mission is simple: to optimize and expedite our clients’ property insurance settlements when disaster strikes.
Since 1924, we’ve represented more than 10,000 clients, recovering billions of dollars in insurance proceeds for policyholders. With offices throughout the region, we understand the storms that hit the Midwest, the insurers that operate here, and the nuances of how local claims are handled.