Tropea Restoration Inc.: Rebuild, Restore, Reassure

Tropea Restoration Inc. (Tropea) officially incorporated in 1980, though the Marchese family’s history in insurance restoration and reconstruction stretches back to the 1970s. Tropea remains a family-owned and -operated entity with brothers Joe and Lou Marchese holding the reins as second-generation owners.

Tropea is a general contractor specializing in insurance restoration, boasting participation in most large insurance carrier and third-party administration-preferred provider programs. The team at Tropea prides itself on deep and long-term relationships within the insurance and property management industries.

Throughout three decades, the Marchese family propelled Tropea to succeed by focusing on upholding ambitiously high standards for quality and customer satisfaction as the foremost values defining the success of a given project. Above all, Tropea aims to provide the level of efficiency and expertise that provides clients with a modicum of consolation during trying times.

Tropea maintains headquarters in Perry Hall, Md., and focuses on projects within a 45-minute drive of headquarters. This allows Tropea to reach clients across Baltimore City, Baltimore County, Harford County and Anne Arundel County.

“We’re now working with the third generation of Marchese family members, so we truly are a family-run company,” asserts Lou, vice president of Tropea. “We believe that sets us apart, but, more importantly, we strive to set our company apart from the competition by always emphasizing the importance of customer service.”

A Team of Experts

Tropea offers a comprehensive employment package to the company’s well-deserving employees. The package includes competitive pay, vacation, health insurance, 401(k) and profit sharing to ensure Tropea can attract, and keep, the best team on staff. Tropea recognizes the importance of its staff, as Tropea’s esteemed team has a deep corral of dedicated specialty contractors, which allows the company to take on large projects.
The company’s largest project is a 24-unit condo building, which sustained extensive fire damage. The $2.4 million contract was successfully completed on time, on budget and with happy property owners, management and insurance carrier partners.

Tropea’s value-added benefit for property management clients ensures the team is capable of handling the entire property damage claim, from beginning to end. “We take what would otherwise be a huge time commitment off of their desk, and onto ours,” explains Lou. “From the initial emergency services, meeting with property owners, assembling the detailed scope of work and negotiating with the insurance carrier to effective project management of the entire restoration project and the final punch list.” The Tropea team guarantees completion dates and ensures all interested parties are informed throughout the process.

The team’s expertise has not only garnered Tropea large projects. The company currently has an A+ rating on Angie’s List, the popular review website that compiles and rates popular service providers based on user-submitted and -certified reviews. Tropea was also awarded the 2012 Performance Excellence Award for the Mid-Atlantic region, which is awarded annually to the region’s top performer from the Crawford Contractor Connection Convention. The convention serves as the annual gathering place for all 4,000 members across the U.S. and Canada within the Crawford & Company (CCC) claims network, the largest independent provider of claims and risk management solutions to the insurance industry.

“For a third-party administrator like Crawford to name us one of the best in the industry really reflects on the level of professionalism and service we provide, especially because customer satisfaction is one of the key determining metrics for these awards,” states Lou. Winning such an award is no small feat; however, the achievement didn’t exactly come as a surprise to the Tropea team, which continually solicits feedback from both clients and the third-party administrators it works with. The surveys and questionnaires provide an extra opportunity for Tropea employees to identify areas where more attention was needed and also areas where the project’s team excelled.

The surveys hold particular weight for Tropea as the company specializes only in reconstruction work and does not handle any of the initial mitigation claims. The company does offer around-the-clock emergency response services to weatherproof and seal off a damaged structure, as well as providing all management services throughout the reconstruction process. For the remaining labor, Tropea reaches out to a network of trusted, reliable and proven subcontractors that not only understand, but also share in Tropea’s high regard for the client’s needs and can supply the necessary tradesmen to ensure a timely and quality end-result.

Looking Inside and Ahead

“We think of ourselves as the glue on any project, where our professionals come in to really hold the trades together and serve as a point person between the client and the insurance company,” expands Lou. “If we can’t do something, we’ll call someone in who can. But we know that we’re only ever as good as those we work with, and we insist on using only those subcontractors we know and trust to represent us.”

Together, the Tropea team and these strategic partners mobilize an extensive network of resources to return a sense of normalcy back to the client as quickly and safely as possible. The company only works with certified, licensed and approved vendors and subcontractors to guarantee all repairs and restorations will be done right the first time. Of course, the extra security comes at a cost and Tropea makes no claims to being the cheapest option in town.

“The insurance companies and third-party administrators are here to ensure that the contractor assigned to a claim is capable of completing the work and that’s what the policyholder pays for,” asserts Lou. “Even with my own family members, I always recommend they go with the contractor recommended by the insurance carrier.”

Overall, 2012’s unusual weather kept the Tropea team busy with a derecho rolling though the states of the Mid-Atlantic on June 29, leaving a wake of destruction, wind damage and power outages behind. “On June 29, 2012, we picked up a total of 50 jobs, which is a lot for us,” adds Lou. Nevertheless, Tropea buckled down, fielded every phone call and signaled for backup, working more or less around the clock to complete the repairs.
The Tropea team expects to continue building momentum in the years to come with client satisfaction surveys forming a foundation for the company’s growth. “If there’s an issue, we want to hear about it and address it and we feel these surveys are very important in our company’s continued evolution,” asserts Lou.

Meanwhile, the company will hold fast to its mission of getting customers back to normal as quickly as possible. In the process, the team builds an ever-stronger foundation for Tropea Restoration Inc.’s future.