leadership and experience

insurance fire & water restorations™ was founded in January 2008 by Jon Lavender.

With over 15 years of experience, Jon is a proven business owner, operator, insurance industry member, craftsman and leader. He has brought these key qualifications to his second full-service restoration company - insurance fire & water restorations™.

Jon's interest in construction and restoration began at an early age when he helped his father build the family home from the ground up. Learning all phases of construction under his father's tutelage, Jon attended Ball State University in Muncie, Indiana where he pursued a degree in engineering. He continued using and expanding his construction background, eventually building a home for his wife and four children in Reading, Pennsylvania. Jon has held positions a large loss adjuster for a national insurance company and as a project manager for a restoration company.

In 2000, Jon recognized that there was a need for a full-service restoration company in Berks County, Pennsylvania and seized the opportunity to start a business that would provide complete handling of an insurance-related losses.

Armed with experience in the restoration industry, knowledge of insurance policies, and extensive construction skills, Jon and his twin brother Ted, started Berks · Fire · Water Restorations, Inc.™ in Reading, Pennsylvania. During his time there, Jon oversaw many of the residential and multi-story high rise commercial projects including The Sovereign Center, The Sovereign Performing Arts Center, The Reading Country Club, and The Van Reed Commercial Complex. The construction services included commercial and residential roofing, framing, plumbing, electrical, insulation, drywall, finish carpentry, installation of cabinets and countertops, floor coverings, commercial laundering, and in-house dry cleaning.

Berks · Fire · Water Restorations, Inc.™ began with eight employees and under Jon and Ted's leadership and in only three years grew to 48 employees and a fleet of 30 company vehicles.

In 2004, Jon, his wife, and their four children relocated to southwest Florida. After living there for a few years, Jon decided to re-enter the restoration world and launch another full-service disaster recovery company in an effort to raise the standard of quality and excellence among restoration service companies in southwest Florida.

Today, Berks · Fire · Water Restorations, Inc.™ remains the leader in disaster restoration services in Berks County and Insurance Fire & Water Restorations™ is helping restore the quality of life for its clients in southwest Florida.