On September 20, 2014, Rich and his wife were in the final few weeks of a two-year-long home remodeling. Rich’s home is a 1950’s-style ranch home. The goal of the remodel was to create an open floor plan within the home. This would include removing three walls to combine the sunroom, kitchen, dining room, and living room, followed by extending out a fourth wall and replacing a screened in back porch. Rich and his wife performed nearly all of the work themselves.

On this Saturday, they were finishing up the living room by applying a fresh coat of stain / varnish to the solid wood paneling. The pair finished this task late Saturday night. Rich laid the staining rag over the edge of a plastic trash can sitting in the garage.

The Fire

Policyholder Claim Story: Aven in Virginia

July 13, 2016

The Catastrophic Event

On February 23 and 24 of 2016, according to the Weather Channel website, at least 61 confirmed tornadoes ripped across 10 states on the eastern coast of the U.S. Aven and her family were among those who witnessed this outbreak first-hand. She recounts the events of that Wednesday, “We had tornado warnings all day on the 24^th”. This prompted her and her husband to take the kids and the animals to the basement. “We heard a loud roar, and my husband and I looked at each other and knew it was coming.” They found the safest part of the basement, the bathroom, and huddled together.