Questions & Answers

What is EnservioSelect?
What do you do?
Is EnservioSelect capable of assisting me?
What does this service cost the policy holder?
How does the process work?
What’s the difference between replacement, cleaning and restoration?
How do I choose a restoration professional?
What about items that are declared a total loss?

What is EnservioSelect?
EnservioSelect is the art, collectibles, and hard-to-value items division of Enservio, the market leader in contents inventory creation, valuation, and replacement. Headquartered in Easthampton, Massachusetts, EnservioSelect has an in-house team of experts, a number of whom have appeared as appraisers on the PBS series “Antiques Roadshow,” plus consultants holding Masters of Fine Arts degrees, interior decorators, and other talented professionals. With offices in Boston, Manhattan, Los Angeles, Washington, D.C., Chicago, Detroit, Louisville, and Seattle, EnservioSelect is always prepared. Our highly qualified specialists possess keen insight, knowledge, and understanding of the varied needs of policy holders and adjusters.

What do you do?
When a business or residence experiences a property loss, all of the contents contained within the structures need to be replaced or restored. It’s a daunting task, and one that is made especially challenging when the contents involved are works of art, high-end collectibles, rare books, fine furniture, textiles, or other treasured objects, to name a few. In such instances, it is the job of the claims adjuster to determine an accurate settlement amount with limited information.

EnservioSelect’s team of experts works closely with insureds and adjusters to achieve a fair and equitable valuation of hard-to-value items in a timely manner. We provide highly personalized consulting that combines state-of-the-art technology and expertise to properly evaluate each loss, eliminating the drudgery of compiling personal property loss catalogs and securing appraisals. Our track record demonstrates we consistently bring about the most accurate and convenient solution for all parties.

Is EnservioSelect capable of assisting me?
Our management team has a combined 50 years of high-level insurance claims experience. Our Collector Services division is headed by the Consulting Producer of the PBS awarding-winning television show, “Antiques Roadshow.” Our staff comprises dedicated professionals who have extensive knowledge in high-end genre, ranging from Certified Appraisers and Specialists to our Project Managers and field inventory technicians. Many have studied or worked in the arts or professional interior designer. Many staff members have Masters of Fine Arts Degrees and have had successful careers as university professors, museum curators, and gallery or auction house personnel. We also offer a wide ranging network of consulting experts, with unmatched abilities in virtually any area, such as pre-Columbian antiquities, obscure collectibles, or fine wines, to name a few. It is safe to say EnservioSelect has consulted on more multimillion dollar claims than any other organization in the country. No job is beyond our capabilities.

What does this service cost the policy holder?
If your insurance carrier has brought us in to reduce the burden of the claims process and expedite the inventory and valuation of your contents, they are committed to paying our service invoice. This payment is NOT deducted from your policy and does not reduce the maximum amount collectible under your policy. If your carrier has not brought us on board and you’d like to retain our services directly, please contact us at 800.715.4245.

How does the process work?
The process varies based upon the extent of damage to each building; however, the typical scenario would include EnservioSelect conducting a physical inventory of the items that remain in your home. Those items are digitally imaged, with more than 5,000 images often taken on a project to properly document the type and quality of items.
We supplement our physical inventory with reconstruction interviews to recreate an accurate inventory for areas of the home “burnt out of site” or otherwise destroyed. These interviews can involve the homeowner, family members, caretakers, domestic help, designers, business managers or anyone else you identify who may help us capture the most accurate inventory possible.

We further utilize any pictures or original purchase receipts or appraisals you may have to help define our valuation research. The process is collaborative, with many image-rich draft reports provided for the homeowner’s review and comment. The reports may be sorted on a room-by-room basis or by category, whichever you find easier to work with. A personal review of the inventory may be arranged.

In all cases, our process results in the most accurate valuation possible.

What’s the difference between replacement, cleaning and restoration?
Items with substantial damage, i.e., without hope of restoration, are entered in our reports as a total loss to be replaced.

There may be other items that can be removed from your home, cleaned and placed back into service. A common example is your pots and pans. A professional cleaning service is usually employed to determine which items are made of materials that can readily be cleaned. EnservioSelect does not inventory these items. The cleaning service provides its own inventory of cleanable items along with their invoice.

Items that require restoration or conservation are included in our inventory. There are two types of such items: those that make sense to restore and those not worth the time and cost. We secure the estimate for restoration from experts to make certain it is in your economic best interest to proceed. In other words, we will alert you if the cost to restore exceeds the valuation of the object. In cases where the cost of restoration exceeds the value of the item, the replacement valuation is used in our inventory. Where it is economically prudent to restore an item, the cost is entered in our inventory.

How do I choose a restoration professional?
EnservioSelect is happy to work with any artisan with whom you have a relationship and trust. If you do not have genre-specific restoration professionals to assist you, we are prepared to help secure those services for you. Very often, time is of the essence, and with your authorization, we can secure emergency mitigation services on your behalf to stabilize your fine arts or antiques in order to prevent further, irreversible damage. In such cases, the cost of the mitigation services would become a part of your claim, included in your inventory and paid by you with insurance funds. The restorer providing mitigation services will not proceed with conservation/restoration until we secure an estimate for the services on a per-item basis. We will review the cost of restoration to advise you whether it is feasible to proceed, and you in turn will choose which, if any, items are actually restored. Items you choose not to restore are returned to you in their damaged state.

If you decide to proceed with restoration, you will have a direct relationship with the conservator. Please be aware EnservioSelect NEVER accepts compensation from recommended restorers. Our recommendations are based entirely on professional reputation and positive past experiences with other clients.

What about items that are declared a total loss?
If an item is declared a total loss, you are fully compensated, and it becomes the property of the insurance company. If you have an interest in retaining such items, we will put you in contact with the party that handles the disposition to make sure you are afforded the first opportunity to purchase them.Such items are occasionally removed from harm’s way and placed into storage to prevent further damage. In such instances they do not become the insurance company’s property until you receive your settlement payment.