Fire Insurance Claims - Tips To Help You Through The Disaster

By Joe Brennan

Almost everyone who has suffered damages to their property as a result of a fire insurance claim makes costly mistakes during and after the settlement... And, here it is; Most policyholders simply rely on their insurance company to evaluate the entire claim. This can be the most costly mistake anyone could ever make in their entire life.

As if it's not devastating enough to see your belongings and property consumed by a fire, but then relying on someone else - without knowing their credentials - to value your belongings and property, provide the proper costs to repair or replace, and simply trust that they've done this all correctly without missing anything... Has To Be I N S A N E ! Yet, homeowners and business owners allow such things to happen all across the nation, each and every day. For the majority of people it's simple human nature to count their "change" after ordering fast-food or to diligently scan their dinner bill and be certain that the waitress didn't charge for any items they didn't order. We've all done these exact things. Time and time again we will go out of our way to count and penny-pinch of our chump change. Yet, when it comes to the tens of thousands and even the hundreds of thousands of dollars we've lost from a fire insurance claim, we rely on an insurance company representative without scanning, reviewing or keeping track.

No one else comes close to knowing your property like you do. With all that is needed to properly prepare and configure the damages associated with a fire insurance claim, almost in all instances, items are missed and forgotten during the claims process. Especially if this is completed by someone other than you. The insurance adjusters don't know all there is to know about your building, your personal property, or the quality of your contents ( clothing, furniture, etc. ) like you do. How could another person possibly be as accurate as you when calculating such items? Further, simply because the insurance adjuster visits the property for an inspection, in no way shape or form means that they are a professional contractor, builder, or qualified and certified in fire and water damage restoration and evaluation.

With the review of thousands of closed claims, we have found that in most cases, both insurance companies and policyholders unknowingly miss damages that are hidden from the naked eye. In almost all instances; it is a good idea to have a professional review your fire damage claim. Preferably a fire insurance claims appraiser, consultant, or fire consulting firm.

Policyholders often believe that when the insurance company sends them a check and they deposit the money in their bank account - the claim is closed. This couldn't be further from the truth. The fact is; that in most states a policyholder has 3-years to make a claim and even ADD to an existing claim. So, a review of your claim to see if you have been properly compensated can occur, during the claims process or even after the claim has been settled. You can also obtain more money from your claim - even if it has been torn down and demolished.

Yes, even if your claim has been settled and you have deposited the checks, or your building has been torn down and demolished, you can still obtain more insurance proceeds if the damages were not assessed properly. In many cases, tens of thousands or even hundreds of thousands of more dollars. Even when a policyholder believes they have received a fair settlement... they usually have not.

It's up to YOU, the policyholder, to do your part to protect yourself. Here are tips to help individuals with fire insurance claims. There are helpful tips for policyholders in the middle of their claim - as well as help for those with claims that are closed.

1. During Claim -

1. Document The Building Damages: Take time yourself to inspect and document the damages to your property. Take pictures and measurements of all rooms in your home or building. Take an overview picture of the room and then some close-up pics of the ceilings, walls, windows, doors, floors, etc. of that room. Photograph your way around the building and each room to your left (clock wise). Be sure to take an overview picture before entering the next room. Be it, a room, closet, or hall. This will allow for an easier way to organize what pictures belong to what rooms. An example would be; Take overview picture of the master bedroom, then work your way from the ceiling to the floor. Take an overview picture of the ceiling and then zoom in for close-up damages on the ceiling. Continue by taking an overview picture of each wall, followed by close-up pictures of damage on walls. Continue this same process with the doors, windows, and floors. Just before you enter the next bedroom, hall or closet, the very first picture will be an overview, and so on. (No pictures or close-ups of any clothing, furniture, or electronics yet, just the room pics.)

1. Closed Claim -

1. Obtain Documents For Building: Your insurance adjuster had taken photos of the property during their inspection(s). If you do not have any photos yourself, or if you only have minimal photos - you should request a copy of all photos that were taken by the insurance adjuster. You will want to also request the copy of the adjusters scope. The scope will be the diagram/sketch and measurements they used to calculate the square feet of each room of the building. Request the complete line-item, detailed estimate they wrote to arrive at the settlement numbers of your claim. These documents will be useful to you and for any fire insurance claim consultant you may choose.

2. During Claim Process -

2. Document Your Contents Damage: Next is to visit each room and closet once again to inventory your contents. Take an overview photo of each piece of furniture, pair of shoes, shirts, pants, ect. Then a close-up photo of any damage on that item. Write each item down on a Contents Inventory Form. ( Download one by visiting http://www.insuranceclaimsgroup.com/forms.html ) Similar to the way you have photographed and organized your building damage photos, you should do the same with your contents. Example; Take overview photo of living room, then work your way around the room to the left (clockwise). Photograph and list all the items on each wall until you get back to the doorway you began at. This way items will not be missed or forgotten. Once the living room inventory has been completed, move to the next room and start by taking an overview photo of the room. this helps organize what room the contents were located. List the name of the room at he top of each page of your inventory list. Now the photos and the list are both organized in sequence with each other.

2. Closed Claim -

2. Obtain Contents Damage Documents: If the adjuster has done their job properly they have taken photos of the contents during the inspection as well. If you have minimal or no photos of your contents you should request all those taken by the adjuster. You also want to request a copy of the complete contents inventory they had written to arrive at your contents settlement numbers. This type of documentation will also be useful for the fire insurance claim consultants you may choose.

3. During Claim -

3. Review Your Policy: Fire victims must take the time to review their insurance policy. You must know the basics; How much coverage do you have on your building? How much coverage do you have for your contents (furniture, clothing, etc.)? How much coverage do you have to stay in a hotel or to rent a home or furniture? Surprisingly, many people don't know this. In many cases the policy has been damaged in the fire. If this is the case; visit your agent and ask for a certified copy of your full policy. Ask your agent to help explain how much coverage you have.

3. For Closed Claims -

3. Obtain Copy Of Your Policy: Contact your insurance company and request a certified copy of your "FULL" insurance policy, including the Declarations page. This documentation will be useful for the fire insurance claim consultant you choose.

4. Existing Claims -

4. Consult With A Professional: The insurance companies have their adjuster visit your property, inspect your damages, and complete estimates on the amount of damage you have incurred. It's very important you have the same exact process completed yourself. How does a policyholder know the insurance company adjuster has done their job correctly? Should you be willing to give up tens of thousands of dollars by not taking steps to be sure? The insurance adjuster should explain all the fire insurance claim coverage's that is available to you, however, such information is rarely disclosed. Sometimes it is even done on purpose, and on other occasions it's also done on purpose (Did you read that? Forgetting to advise you of certain coverage's is usually withheld until you ask. More often than not; it's done on purpose.) It is your belongings, it is your money, and it is your policy. You must educate yourself to ensure you're being fully compensated for the fire damages. You should consider hiring a fire insurance claim professional. Someone who can look out for you and review the insurance company's value of your loss. You need to be in-the-know by obtaining your own "real-world" costs and estimates to repair or replace your property.

4. For Closed Claims -

4. Consult A Independent Insurance Appraiser: Have you been provided with a fair settlement? How is a person sure they have unless they consult with a professional? Anyone who is not 100% sure if they have obtained fair and full settlement from an insurance company, owes it to themselves to investigate. If policyholders have collected and reviewed all the docs and photos that are listed above; they have sufficient documentation to consult the opinion of an independent appraiser and insurance professional. A professional review of your claim documentation is all an independent insurance appraiser needs to advise if you were treated fairly. To consider leaving yourself in the dark, with no flashlight in sight, without knowing if you're forfeiting tens of thousands and/or hundreds of thousands of dollars in the insurance company's pocket - doesn't make much sense at all. The minimal fee it would take to understand where you stand is a very tiny cost to pay. Compare that same tiny cost to a large chunk of insurance funds that you weren't even aware existed... is a no-brainer.

(Free Consultation: Getting help is easier than you think. We provide a no cost review of any present or closed insurance files. Call for your Free Consultation at any time 919-669-9111. Or visit online at http://www.insuranceclaimsgroup.com/contact-us.html )

The reasons are very simple. The fact is, the insurance company's adjusters work directly for the insurance companies, where fire claims appraisers works directly for the policyholders. At this point you have made the right move by taking time to be sure you had insurance coverage for your property. It is now up to you to jump to the next step to ensure you have fully received what was paid for. - 31388

About the Author:

privacy policy

Privacy Policy

The privacy of our visitors to this website is important to us.
At this website, we recognize that privacy of your personal information is important. Here is information on what types of personal information we receive and collect when you use and visit this website, and how we safeguard your information. We never sell your personal information to third parties.

Log Files
As with most other websites, we collect and use the data contained in log files. The information in the log files include your IP (internet protocol) address, your ISP (internet service provider, such as AOL or Shaw Cable), the browser you used to visit our site (such as Internet Explorer or Firefox), the time you visited our site and which pages you visited throughout our site.

Cookies and Web Beacons
We do use cookies to store information, such as your personal preferences when you visit our site. This could include only showing you a popup once in your visit, or the ability to login to some of our features, such as forums.

We also use third party advertisements on this website to support our site. Some of these advertisers may use technology such as cookies and web beacons when they advertise on our site, which will also send these advertisers (such as Google through the Google AdSense program) information including your IP address, your ISP , the browser you used to visit our site, and in some cases, whether you have Flash installed. This is generally used for geotargeting purposes (showing New York real estate ads to someone in New York, for example) or showing certain ads based on specific sites visited (such as showing cooking ads to someone who frequents cooking sites).

DoubleClick DART cookies
We also may use DART cookies for ad serving through Google’s DoubleClick, which places a cookie on your computer when you are browsing the web and visit a site using DoubleClick advertising (including some Google AdSense advertisements). This cookie is used to serve ads specific to you and your interests (”interest based targeting”). The ads served will be targeted based on your previous browsing history (For example, if you have been viewing sites about visiting Las Vegas, you may see Las Vegas hotel advertisements when viewing a non-related site, such as on a site about hockey). DART uses “non personally identifiable information”. It does NOT track personal information about you, such as your name, email address, physical address, telephone number, social security numbers, bank account numbers or credit card numbers. You can opt-out of this ad serving on all sites using this advertising by visiting http://www.doubleclick.com/privacy/dart_adserving.aspx

You can choose to disable or selectively turn off our cookies or third-party cookies in your browser settings, or by managing preferences in programs such as Norton Internet Security. However, this can affect how you are able to interact with our site as well as other websites. This could include the inability to login to services or programs, such as logging into forums or accounts.

Deleting cookies does not mean you are permanently opted out of any advertising program. Unless you have settings that disallow cookies, the next time you visit a site running the advertisements, a new cookie will be added.

disclaimer

CONTENT DISCLAIMER

The information contained in this website is for general information
purposes only. The information is provided by this website and
while we endeavour to keep the information up to date and correct,
we make no representations or warranties of any kind, express or
implied, about the completeness, accuracy, reliability, suitability or
availability with respect to the website or the information, products,
services, or related graphics contained on the website for any
purpose. Any reliance you place on such information is therefore
strictly at your own risk.

In no event will we be liable for any loss or damage including
without limitation, indirect or consequential loss or damage, or any
loss or damage whatsoever arising from loss of data or profits
arising out of, or in connection with, the use of this website.
Through this website you are able to link to other websites which are
not under the control of this website.
We have no control over the nature, content and availability of
those sites. The inclusion of any links does not necessarily
imply a recommendation or endorse the views expressed within them.
Every effort is made to keep the website up and running smoothly.
However, this website takes no responsibility for, and will not
be liable for, the website being temporarily unavailable due to
technical issues beyond our control.

contact us



Your Name
Your Email Address
Subject
Message
Image Verification
Please enter the text from the image
[ Refresh Image ] [ What's This? ]


Sign Up for our Free Newsletter

Enter email address here