LMI appointed to assist following the arson attack on the Adass Synagogue in Melbourne.

In the early hours of 6th December, 2024, the Adass Isreal Shul (Synagogue) was set on fire by at least 2 arsonists in what appears to have been a brazen anti-sematic attack.

It was fortunate that their were members of the community inside the building in prayer at the time, despite it being very early in the morning and they disturbed the perpetrators.

Nonetheless the damage to the building and its contents some with great religious importance has been severely damaged.

I do not think there is any place for such violence which could easily have ended tragically for those inside the building had they not heard the sound of the break-in and gone to investigate. What so many do not appreciate or perhaps they do and do not care, is that when someone lights a match, you do not know where the fire will spread. It could be a completely innocent motorist or pedestrian is killed as the emergency services rush to the scene and of course their is a risk to our brave fire fighters.

Having met many of the members of this community following the fire and in the past, I have always found them to be honest, gentle, generous, tolerant and kind people who like me are appalled by such violence and hatred.

As I type this and reflect on my meetings this week, the words: honest, tolerant, gentle, kind, and generous are the ones that keep coming to mind. However, I would add one more, peaceful.

From a personal point of view I am extremely pleased to be able to assist the board and the greater community involved in assisting in the recovery and to prepare their insurance claim. Many of the LMI team feel the same way and have put up there hand to help when and wherever they can.

LMI were appointed on the recommendation of many people and the fact that one of our team Max Salveson assisted when the same building was attacked in a similar way in 1995 was also a consideration.

From the start, the insurer, insurance brokers, loss adjusters and restoration companies have all gone above and beyond. It proves yet again, that insurance is not just about price but the quality of the coverage, the financial strength of the insurer and the attitude of their claims team is vitally important at the time of a claim. This extends to the loss adjuster and trades that the insurer introduce, all of whom represent the insurer in the eyes of the Insured.

I have been more than a bit disillusioned at the performance of many in the claims space over the past few years, but this claim has been handled professionally but with genuine compassion.

As an aside I took comfort that people of many different faiths were assisting in the emergency work and no doubt will continue to do so with the rebuild.

I would also make special mention of the positive impact the personal involvement of Prime Minister Anthony Albanese by visiting the site and meeting many in the community has had. His interest in this event will be ongoing.

While the broker on this account has done a first class job in tailoring the coverage to meet this client’s needs, inevitably in a loss and disruption to services of this magnitude their will be costs which are not recoverable from insurance.

Areas that immediately come to mind are improved security and fire protection are deemed betterment and are not claimable as they were not damaged or destroyed.

With any such event, I urge the Insured to not only focus on the threats and look at the situation through the rear vision mirror but to think where they want to be in 2, 5 or 10 years time. Look at how they can better serve their growing community into the future.

This does not mean trying to exaggerate the claim in any way. It means that they take the proceeds of insurance combined with any other funds they can raise and build for the future.

If you would like to help heal the psychological pain and rebuild this important building for the future please consider donating at https://www.charidy.com/rebuildadass. Any donations are fully tax deductible. Thank you.

I end by enclosing just a few photos that Steve took during our several site visits over the past few days.