Anybody in any part of the world can be affected by fire damage; it is a disaster that does not discriminate. Fires can occur at any moment and also affect homes or companies and it does not care about your home’s location or its upkeep, or the absence of it. It can take place for a variety of reasons despite you doing everything to prevent it. That said, if your residential or commercial property has actually been harmed or destroyed by fire, the first thing you’ll more than likely do is to submit a fire claim with your insurance provider.
However, filing a fire claim can be complicated and time consuming especially if you are not familiar with the common terms or processes. So for future reference, continue reading…
Fire and Fire Claim – Discussed
2009 to 2013 records from the United States Fire Administration show that cigarettes and cooking devices have been the top two culprits of fire in the country, i.e. approximately 350,000 domestic fires that lead to over 13,000 injuries and 2,000 deaths. Moreover, the records validated that three out of five fires took place in households due to defective or absence of smoke detecting devices.
Fires have become an essentially common threat in many places in the United States. Recovering from it is not easy especially with all the damages at hand. But you can actually be more prepared against such misfortunes, make sure your loved ones are secure in case the worst happens through availing a fire insurance for your property.
Insurance providers have been vocal about its attempt to lessen edges on fire claims to be able to save cash. As accidents and injuries that are fire related continue to rise, it pays to be well familiar with how to file a fire claim.
If you are unfamiliar about fire claim yet, below are tips to help you:
- Be a smart spender.
If you are left with nothing after the fire and you could not salvage your stuff because you were forced to abandon the place due to hazard issues, do not worry. Your house insurance claim actually covers the price of your fundamentals like clothing, tooth brushes and more. More often than not, the claim can already be availed even with the absence of filing.
However, just because you are given a budget for replacement, it does not mean you can spend excessively. Be a smart and responsible spender and only buy the things you truly need. A lot of insurance companies do not tolerate pointless purchases and if yours will find out about your splurge, it can charge you for it. Do not overdo as much as possible.
- Account everything.
Although it is impossible for you to remember everything, as much as possible account all that you think were lost in the fire, especially the essentials. This is a process that will eat up your time and torture your emotions as you would have to thoroughly recall what you have lost but you still have to make the checklist as it is essential to get sufficient fire claim.
By accounting everything, make sure you do not toss other things away and include them instead in your list. Take care of the checklist as it will be for your fire claim adjuster to refer to. Otherwise, your insurance provider might refuse to compensate you.
- File your fire claim as soon as possible.
A lot of insurance plans require submission of fire claim immediately. So, in case fire happens in your property, keep your presence of mind and make sure you call your insurance agent as soon as possible so you can start the declaring process. Your insurance provider will require the submission of your “evidence of loss” which includes the checklist of all the things you have lost and their overall estimated worth, as mentioned above.
Haste means waste and this serves true in claiming your fire insurance too. Hence, it is downright necessary to act on it without delay especially if other homes are also impacted by the fire. Otherwise, you might end up winding in all-time low of the policyholders’ checklists and in this case, it might take a long while before your insurer reaches you again.
- Keep your property secured.
Your insurance provider will definitely need your presence as it takes sensible actions to provide protection to your property in case more consequential issues arise. Now, if everything has been completely damaged to the point of acknowledgment, then this process is no longer needed. Nonetheless, if only a portion of your property has been damaged, make sure to go through the needed measures to prevent more damages to the rest of the components.
- Put pressure on your insurance provider.
Universal law stipulates that insurance providers must handle fire cases with urgency. Hence, if your provider is treating you otherwise and you feel like you have been provided the service that you do not deserve, then start putting pressure on them by writing them a letter and letting them know that you have sent a copy to the state’s department of insurance as well. Know what you deserve.
- Go for accurate fixing estimations and take care of the document upkeep.
Fire claims allow you to reconstruct or repair your damaged property. Do know that you have the right to have the amount that will be needed to fully restore your residence from its minor to major components.
You are also entitled the benefits stipulated in the substitute policy. This
enables you to get the amount that is needed to renovate your property
including its materials regardless of the extent of its worth. But in fact,
once you get your fire substitute claim, it does not really require you to
renovate your home in the very same state when it was caught on fire. You have
the transgression to decide where and how you want it reconstructed as long as
it is close to the value you have justified.
To ease your experience and to give yourself a moment to grieve, you can hire a public adjuster instead. Although it comes with a cost, hiring one can spare you all the hassle of dealing with your insurance provider and you can be sure that you claim the rightful amount that you deserve.