A few weeks ago, Austin — one of the owners here at Monarch Restoration — posted something on Instagram that stopped us mid-scroll. It wasn’t a before-and-after photo or a promo. It was a real, ground-level look at what his team was actually dealing with on a storm damage job in Prospect, KY: a family displaced from their home, an insurance claim that came in at a fraction of what it needed to be, and a restoration company that had to fight to close the gap.
That post is what this blog is about. We pulled Austin aside and asked him to tell the full story — from the pop-up thunderstorm that started it all to the $130,000 difference between what the insurance company first offered and what this homeowner actually needed.
The answers are his, in his words.
Q: Can you set the scene for this project?
Austin: Yeah, so this is a family that had just moved into their home and they were doing renovations to get the house back in order. They hired an out-of-town roofer to install a new roof. While the work was underway, they got hit with a bad pop-up thunderstorm, one of those spring ones that comes out of nowhere.
The roofer hadn’t secured the open areas properly, so when the storm rolled through, there was nothing stopping the water. It came straight through the roof and flooded the upstairs, the main level, and the basement. The whole house.
Q: How big of a project are we talking?
Austin: It’s probably a million-dollar home, and the total project came in around $150,000. This was essentially a whole-home rebuild. We had to do insulation, drywall, floor refinishing, carpet, painting — the works. And because there was so much water intrusion in so many different parts of the home, there was a lot of investigation required just to understand the full scope of the damage.
Q: What made this project complex beyond the sheer size of it?
Austin: There were a lot of moving pieces. Anytime you have water reaching multiple floors and multiple rooms, you’re dealing with damage that isn’t always visible at first. Water travels. It hides behind walls, under floors, inside insulation. So a big part of early-stage work is just understanding what you’re actually dealing with.
But the real complexity on this one was the insurance process. We had to work heavily with the insurance adjusters to get the claim approved. Building that relationship was challenging, and navigating it on behalf of the homeowner was a lot of work.
On top of that, the homeowner was understandably stressed. When someone’s family has just been displaced from their home and they don’t know what the next few months look like, emotions run high. So providing a lot of support and empathy for that person, that was its own challenge throughout the project.
Q: Let’s talk about the insurance side. What was the gap you were working with?
Austin: The initial claim estimate came in around $30,000. That number was not going to be enough to restore the property to the condition it was in before the storm. Not even close. A claim that size would have left this homeowner with a partially-repaired house and a lot of out-of-pocket costs.
We knew going in that the scope needed to be much larger. The project ultimately landed at around $160,000 in approved coverage. So the difference between what the adjuster initially offered and what this homeowner actually needed was $130,000.
Q: So what did Monarch actually do to close that gap?
Austin: At the very start of the project, we got out in front of it. We reached out to the adjusters early, looped in all the right people, and established ourselves as the point of contact for the homeowner. That early communication mattered a lot.
We met with all the stakeholders early on and were able to build trust quickly, on behalf of the homeowner, not just for ourselves. That relationship made it easier to get things approved and keep the project moving through its lifecycle.
Honestly, I think advocacy is one of the most under-talked-about parts of what restoration companies do. Homeowners really don’t know what they don’t know. They try their best, but navigating a large insurance claim is not something most people have ever done before. That’s where we come in.
Q: Were there other complications on the build side — beyond the insurance?
Austin: Yes — this home had high-end finishes. When you’re restoring a home at that level, the bids and the trades work differently. You can’t just bring in a standard contractor and call it a day. You have to source the right people, manage the bids carefully, and make sure the end result actually matches what was there before.
So handling all of that, the trades, the bids, the documentation, the adjuster communication, and the homeowner communication — all at the same time, that’s the real complexity of a project like this.
Q: Looking back, what did the advocacy actually achieve for this family?
Austin: We were able to make sure the homeowner could restore their property to pre-loss condition. That’s really the goal, not just patching things up, but actually getting the home back to where it was before the storm hit.
And beyond the physical restoration, we were able to give this family their home back. They could move back in and resume their lives. That’s what it’s really about. The claims process and the insurance negotiations and the trades — all of that exists so a family can get back to normal.
Q: Is there anything else you think readers should take away from this project?
Austin: I think the size and complexity is important to share. This was a very large project, and we’re a newer company. So for anyone who’s looking at different restoration companies and wondering if we have the experience to handle something serious, this is a good example of what we’re capable of.
It wasn’t a simple job. There were a lot of people involved, a lot of moving pieces, a challenging homeowner situation, and a significant insurance gap to close. We worked through all of it. That’s the kind of thing that gives us credibility, and I think it’s worth telling that story.
What This Looks Like for KY Homeowners
If you’re a homeowner dealing with storm damage, the insurance process can feel like a second disaster on top of the first one. Adjusters work for the insurance company. You need someone in your corner who understands the process, knows how to document damage correctly, and isn’t afraid to push back when the initial estimate falls short.
That’s what advocacy means at Monarch Restoration. Not just showing up and doing the work — but making sure you’re made whole.
