Claims Business: Sedgwick, Charles Taylor and Greenspan/Adjusters International

Sedgwick, the global claims administration provider based in Memphis, Tenn., has acquired Automotive Damage Appraisers of the Southwest and Metro Appraisal.

The acquisitions expand the reach and scale of Sedgwick’s auto claims division in the US, the company said in a press release. Employees of both companies will now work for Sedgwick’s auto appraisal division.

ADASW, based in Albuquerque, New Mexico, is a regional independent appraiser of damaged vehicles and heavy equipment. The company was founded in 1952 and has a strong presence in Colorado, New Mexico and Texas, Sedgwick said.

Metro Appraisal is an independent appraiser based in Tampa and the largest independent auto appraiser in Florida, Sedgwick said. The company’s team of 20 appraisers conduct approximately 50,000 damage appraisals annually, according to the press release.

Sedgwick expanded into the auto appraisal space last year with the acquistion of Nationwide Appraisals.

Charles Taylor, a global claims management firm headquartered in London, has created a new US division aimed at providing pre-risk and post-loss environmental services.

The new service will be known as Charles Taylor Environmental Technical Services. It will be led by Kellie Vazquez, senior vice president of environmental technical services for Charles Taylor.

Vazquez has 12 years of experience providing environmental services to the insurance industry. Previously, she was vice president of sales and marketing for American Environmental Group in Orange County, California, according to her Linkedin profile.

Charles Taylor said its environmental services group will be based in California. Service offerings include asbestos, lead, mold, bacteria, sewage, and soot assessments, and indoor air quality testing.

The company said the environmental services team can operate independently or in conjunction its catastrophe adjusting, engineering and technical services businesses.

A San Francisco area public adjusting firm is crowing about local news coverage that detailed its efforts to obtain an additional $1 million in coverage for the owner of nonprofit conservation group in Marin County.

Greenspan Co./Adjusters International, based in South San Francisco, said in a press release that it obtained more than $1 million more than offered by an insurer for the Audobon Canyon Ranch for damages from the Nunn Fire in 2017. The blaze destroyed a historic residence on the property and seven other buildings owned by the nonprofit, which manages the 535-acre Bouverie Preserve.

The Marin Independent Journal ran an op-ed piece written by Audubon Canyon Ranch interim Chief Executive Officer about the effort to obtain a larger settlement on May 1. The Santa Rosa News-Press ran a news article about the settlement on May 10.

The News-Press reported that the nonprofit group netted an additional $857,894 on top of the insurer’s $4.8 million settlement offer after deducting Greenspan’s 20% fee.

Neither the newspaper nor the press release identified the insurer.