A company in flames – how Zurich helped

When he is alerted on his mobile phone about the fire, Fabrizio Dotta hopes for a false alarm. But arriving on site, his worst fears are con­firmed: His company, Metallizzazione SA, is on fire. It is September 14, 2017. He watches helplessly as the fire destroys a large part of the production facilities in the medium-­sized paint shop. "At that moment, you're obviously shocked", says the ETH engineering graduate, looking back: "You never think that it can burn down – you just can't believe it."

Metallizzazione SA, based in Lamone near Lugano, was founded in 1957 and specialises in hot-dip galvanising, powder coating, industrial wet painting and zinc flake treat­ment. One of its services is fire protection; it seems like a mean twist of fate that of all companies, this one would become prey to a major fire. A few weeks earlier, a hailstorm had already severely damaged various hall roofs and the office roof. Fabrizio Dotta can hardly believe that some­thing is up again. On the night of the fire he doesn't go to bed until one a.m. – in the hope that he will "awaken from this bad dream in the morning".

However, the picture is even more shocking the next day. The powder coating plant is completely destroyed, the wet coating area severely damaged. Initial estimates suggest total costs of approxi­mately two million Swiss francs. Fabrizio Dotta immediately contacts Zurich. The respon­sible damage inspector is Francesco Schramm, a distinguished expert. He assesses the extent of the damage on site right away. Together with Fabrizio Dotta, he agrees the first measures so that at least part of the production can continue as soon as possible. He also provides an external engineer to advise on the recon­struction. "Mr. Schramm was a rock for us during this difficult time and gave us great support", the entre­preneur recalls.

In the coming weeks and months, the task will be to rebuild the destroyed facilities. The goal is to retain as many customers as possible. "Thank God a competitor helped us and carried out work for us", reflects Fabrizio Dotta "This allowed us to continue to serving our customers. However, there are still consider­able losses in earnings; it takes almost a year for the company to become fully operational again. The thing that enabled Metallizzazione to survive: Fabrizio Dotta's property insurance also secures him against business interruption. Which is why Francesco Schramm can make payments on account immediately. Looking back, Fabrizio Dotta says: "Zurich was a great insurance company and gave us great support. The fact that we're still here today is really down to Zurich."

To this day, the exact cause of the damage is still unknown. As always in such cases, the police are also investi­gating. They can rule out the possibility that the fire was caused by mis­conduct or even started intentionally. Those involved can breathe a sigh of relief. "This was also a very stressful time for my employees", the Managing Director recounts. Even though there wasn't enough work to go around, he didn't let anyone go. "Zurich's services gave me the leeway to act responsibly as an entre­preneur", says Fabrizio Dotta. After the fire, he invested even more heavily in prevention: "We regularly organise exercises with the fire brigade. This also gives my employees the self confidence they need to keep a clear head in an emergency."

Property insurance protects the entire inventory against risks such as burglary or damage caused by natural hazards. This also includes fires. Zurich's all-risks coverage even includes all damage that has not been explicitly excluded. You can put together your own personal insurance package thanks to the modular structure. If you want, you can include real estate, technical equipment, transport or cyber risks in addition to the company inventory. You also have the option to take out business interruption insurance. Find out what protection your company needs.