Michaelson & Messinger Insurance Specialists, LLC - Hinsdale, Illinois

Ibrahim R.

My garage had burned down completely from a electrical fire in June of 2023, damaging parts of my house resulting in a large loss. Stan approached me as a public adjuster the day after the fire and we signed up with M&M Insurance to restore our house. It took about 14 months for the restoration but our house looks very nice. Our garage is a attached garage, there was fire damage to parts of our house and smoke damage to the whole house. Within a week of the fire, Stan was able to get a cleaning company to get all of our contents and clothing out for cleaning and storage. Him and a M&M's adjuster met with State Farm's adjuster to get a good estimate and it ended up at the max allowed. Then Ray was sent to do a inventory of the content that could not be cleaned or saved and the list was very precise.
Re-construction:
Dan and Arek had managed the construction aspect of it and nearly replaced everything. We had requested a architect for new drawings and the changes we wanted. They stripped the house down completely and it was sprayed with odor killing primer to the undamaged areas, which meant all the insulation and the drywall had to be replaced. All the electrical work was brought up to code, work that was probably done in 1973 is now completely new. Electricians were very good and their work was quality. We made some changes to our master and lower bath, they were also gutted and turned out amazing. They added a new walk in closet to our master bedroom since we had the space for it, much better than what we had previously. Our kitchen was completely renovated to a open concept kitchen, from the countertop to the cabinets all of it turned out very nice. We had laminate flooring on both floors, they replaced it with waterproof flooring. All of our windows were replaced, since some were damaged in the fire. All of the siding was replaced but, out of all the work done, subcontractor for the siding performed low quality work. I was not too fond of the waviness across the house and the poor finishing touches to the siding. For our roof, shingles and the plywood was replaced for the whole house. My garage is 4 car deep and heat had damaged the concrete in some areas. Per my request they epoxied the floor and now the concrete looks brand new. Again, because of this fire M&M Insurance Specialist gave me a brand new better house.
The reason for my 4 star and not 5 is because there was a lack of organization and representation. I did have to give a lot of my time for certain things. M&M needs to set goals for themselves and for their clients because it took 14 months for me to get back into my house. I mentioned representation because I should not have had to deal with State Farm's adjuster once M&M was representing me. I had to deal with State Farm for a lot of the stuff.
Overall I am happy with the end product, all the changes and addition I asked for; Stan, Dan and Arek made them happen. Stan said "We are gonna make your house look beautiful" and they did! My family and friends give a lot of compliments whenever they are over. Its a lengthy overwhelming process, took a lot my patience but the house turned out beautiful.

mark K.

I’m the owner of Calumet Fisheries Inc in Chicago and in November 2023 we had a devastating electrical fire. We hired Michaelson and Messinger for auditing and reconstruction. They did a fantastic job dealing with the city and getting us up and running. Our entire interior was rebuild along with a new roof and exterior. Great office people and field personnel( Dan Maka)i also want to mention my first contact with M&M was Claudia Renteria who was awesome at calming me down and getting the ball rolling to reconstruction. She was always available when I had questions and concerns. Thank you all at M & M

Antonia G.

When the fire happened, this company was incredibly responsive. They were on site almost immediately—right there with the fire department—and very eager to get our business. In those early moments, their attentiveness gave us hope that we were in good hands during a very difficult time.

Unfortunately, that early attentiveness did not carry through the rest of the process. It’s now been over a year, and our restoration project is still not complete. I originally posted a review back in February 2025 due to the lack of progress and communication. After that, we finally had a meeting and I was reassured that we had a plan and path forward. They also repeatedly asked me to remove my review, which I did in good faith, believing the situation was finally being resolved.

Since then, only limited progress has been made. We are now being forced out of our temporary housing and cannot get any clear answers. Calls and messages have gone unanswered. I’ve contacted Veronica, the manager, who promised to call me back that same day—weeks have passed with no response. Jeffrey, the Senior Public Adjuster, also said he would follow up and get back to us, but that follow-up never came.

To add to our concern, we discovered that another restoration company filed a petition against them for breach of contract back in November 2023—something we were never informed about. This reinforces our experience of poor communication, lack of transparency, and unprofessional conduct.

We are still displaced and without closure. If you’re considering this company, please proceed with caution. Their initial urgency to win your business does not reflect how they follow through.

R H.

Dan and Ceasar were great to work with. They went over and above to make sure we were happy, and their work is outstanding. Corners are perfect on the moldings, everything is painted perfectly, and all the structural things are better than specs call for. I highly recommend them.

Daisy

Fantastic, high-quality job! The worst thing occurred when our family's home caught fire in February 2023. We were well taken care of by Stan and their team. They were really helpful when it came to calming us down or simply explaining the process to us when we were vulnerable and didn’t know what the next steps were. Treated us as family. Therefore, we knew that Michaelson & Messinger LLC would be able to assist us when we experienced some plumbing problems. We anticipated that they might not be able to make it because it was Friday and it was the weekend, but they managed to get someone here early the next morning. Handled every task that day! I would absolutely use them again and strongly recommend them to people I know!

L. G.

EXCELLENT experience thanks to Stan M and Dan M. Very PROFESSIONAL and RESPONSIVE throughout the entire ordeal. My parents' house was destroyed after a bad house fire and Stan helped to put my parents at ease and ensured that they understood what to expect throughout the process of the insurance claim and reconstruction project. Dan was in charge of the reconstruction and did a WONDERFUL job putting the house back together and MUCH BETTER than it was before. They both went ABOVE AND BEYOND, I would even say WAY BEYOND to help my parents and provided them with a PERSONABLE experience. Dan also handles real estate sales and helped my parents get a great return on the house after it was sold. Very smart company to hire these two individuals who represented them to a very high caliber. I would definitely recommend this company whether your project is big or small. Ask for Stan and Dan! You won't be disappointed!

Thuan T.

Words cannot descript enough how grateful and happy with this company. After the fire, we didn’t know where to start with repair process except to call the insurance and made the claim. We signed the initial company that was on the scene. Only to find out from a
previous client that they had this company was not the company that would take care of us. Fortunately, I met Aldo Lanto from M&M few days after. We met with Aldo in their office, he was able to help us terminate our contract with the other company and explain
everything in details with us. They were very transparent unlike the other company that just had us sign the contract and never disclosure anything information to us. They took care everything from A to Z. They worked directly with the insurance company, contactors,
article restoration companies, village permits, etc. I was assigned a Project Manager that oversees the project and keeps us up to date. The Project Manager we had was Dan. He was terrific. Between Aldo, Dan and the construction contractor manager Arek, not only
our home was rebuilt but it was rebuilt beautifully. Our new home is 100% more beautiful than we had before. The workmanship is top notch. I hope we never have to go through a tragedy like this again in our lifetime, however if we do, we would definitely go with M&M
again. We had friends and family over and everyone was amazed at the quality of the work. Almost everyone that went into the house told us how beautiful this house turned out after fire. M&M has made everything seamless for the whole year that we were under
construction. The owner was constantly in communication with us to ensure that everything was going great. Communication was great with this whole process. I couldn’t have ask for anything else, everything was perfect with this company.

Amber G.

From the start this company has been a blessing!
I was contacted right away in my time in need. Ed was very patient with me and helped me understand what it is they do!
The repair team was professional and timely. When the fire happened we were under the impression it would be a 6+ month project but they repaired in less than 3 months. I would definitely recommend the house is beautiful!