Editor's note: SteveMortensen is an executive general adjuster for the Chubb Group ofInsurance Companies.

After a fire sparked by a heater in a luxury box tore throughthe Fifth Third Ballpark — home to the West Michigan Whitecapsbaseball team—hosting opening day seemed less like a reality andmore like a dream. It didn't help the Detroit Tiger's Single Aminor-league affiliate that the blaze occurred during one of thecoldest winters Michigan had experienced in more than 30 years.

However, the Whitecaps organization felt it was imperative thestadium be fully functional in time for the home opener. As aresult of Chubb's experience handling similar large-scale losses,the Whitecaps were able to take the field for their first game ofthe season on April 8 at the stadium where the 2014 MidwestAll-Star Game would be hosted two months later.

With the season now well under way, the Fifth Third Ballparkrebuild offers lessons on the experience and expertise, alignment,communication, and flexibility it takes to settle such a loss inthe most expedient manner.

Experience & expertise

The fire occurred in January, and restoration of the Whitecaps'stadium was a big undertaking since the entire first-base side ofthe ballpark was decimated by the blaze. Home plate and thethird-base side saw less structural damage, but smoke and waterdamage in those areas presented additional problems for thereconstruction team. Luckily for the Whitecaps, this wasn't thefirst stadium loss for Chubb's claims team. When an even biggerstadium was under construction, a strong wind gust brought down amillion-pound right-field panel that had been suspended from alarge crane, destroying part of the facility and delaying theopening of the ballpark by a year.

From this experience, the insurer understood what was needed fora quick and successful rebuild, and started the process by hiringexperts. The construction firm that built the Fifth Third Ballparkin 2002 was brought back because of its intimate knowledge of thestadium. To help ensure efficiency and speed, Chubb brought in anexperienced construction-management consultant. For six weeks, theconsultant remained on site, nearly full-time, meeting with theconstruction company and its subcontractors. In addition, since theconstruction company had little experience working on fire-damagedstructures, Chubb hired a forensic-engineering firm to identify ifstructural components of the stadium were salvageable. Not only didthis help prevent wasteful spending, but it also accelerated theconstruction process by not having to replace structurally-soundmaterials.

Alignment & communication

To help accelerate the rebuilding process, Chubb almostimmediately cut a check, making a commitment to do everythingpossible to have the team up and running in time for Opening Day.But all the money in the world will do nothing if the partiesinvolved in the reconstruction are not in sync with the insured'sgoal. From the construction crews to the forensic specialist toappraisers and claims adjusters, if this was going to work in atimely fashion, everyone would have to be on the same page.

To achieve this commitment, constant communication between allparties involved was needed to facilitate a seamless rebuild. Partof the consultant's task was to prevent a communication breakdownby implementing frequent on-site meetings. Additionally, Chubb wasregularly in talks with Whitecaps' senior management, as well aswith the appraisal firm that spent several days going through thecharred remains and speaking to team managers about what needed tobe replaced.

Flexibility

The rebuild also presented an opportunity for additional stadiumimprovements. For example, the Whitecaps widened the walkways intheir luxury boxes, expanded the size of their pro shop andconsolidated the number of refrigerators into several large walk-inunits. Chubb worked with the team to ensure these enhancements weremade.

A team effort

The job at Fifth Third Ballpark showed that a massivecollaborative effort, requiring careful coordination and an influxof up-front money, is essential for a timely finish. With the helpof several industry experts, the proper steps for a rapid rebuildwere taken. By April 8, the entire stadium, with the exception ofthe interiors of the luxury boxes, had been completely rebuilt. ByJune 17, the start of the 50^th-anniversary MidwestAll-Star Game, there was no evidence that a fire had decimated thestadium just months before.