How to fill out the insurance claim for fire damage? The procedure is simpler than it seems, but you must know one by one all the necessary steps and of course, do not skip any of them, or else you will not get any compensation.
First of all, you should know which elements of your home you can and cannot alter, which receipts you need and what information you must provide to the appraiser or expert. In other words, you need to know how to act in each of the phases after the fire.
Once you have gathered all the information, you need to figure out how to file a fire damage insurance claim correctly. Only then will you get coverage. And in addition to the data, the language you use and how you display the information and describe what happened, you will have more or less success in the claim.
Why and when does fire damage occur?
During the hotter months it is much more common to find damage claims of fire. There are areas that overheat excessively and can cause a fire. But also in the coldest months due to the use of heaters and more appliances it is common that due to a bad installation it can produce a fire.
Therefore, all epochs are sensitive to fire damage.
Insurance is essential so you don’t have to worry about anything other than knowing how to file a fire damage insurance claim.
What to do if you need a fire damage insurance claim
If your home, furniture, car and others have been damaged or completely destroyed by fire, you need to know how to file a claim insurance for fire damage as soon as possible.
These are the procedures you must follow. We have divided them into 5 different steps:
Contact the insurer and find out
First, you need to find out if the damage has been included. suffered in the coverage of your policy, also, how much time you have to make the claim since the fire occurred. Once this information is known, also clarify the following points:
- Is your deductible amount higher or lower than the losses incurred? That is, if the money you agreed with the insurer covers or not the damages suffered as a result of the fire.
- How long will the claim process take?
- Do you need to make an economic estimate about the damage repair or is it something that the company takes care of?
Now that you have all the necessary information, take the next step.
Take action
Once you’ve gathered all the information you wanted, you need to take action. These are the points you should not miss:
- Make any temporary repairs that you consider: that is, protect your property from additional damage after the fire. And save all receipts for related expenses and submit them to your insurance company for reimbursement. Well, all expenses for temporary repairs should be part of the total agreement.
- If you have to move and you can’t be in your home, keep your receipts too: homeowners policies Homes offer coverage for those additional living or maintenance expenses after the loss of the home (only if the damage that caused it was specified in the policy, of course).
- Identifies any structural damage: of the house, the pool, the garage or the storage room.
- Await the arrival of the appraiser or expert: he is the one to whom you must deliver or send the claim insurance for fire damage. The better the description about the damage caused (one by one) along with the date, time and estimated cost of replacement, the better. Thus, the more likely you will receive compensation quickly.
- Get quotes that have been written by licensed contractors: that way the compensation will be much faster.
- It is best to take an inventory of everything that has been damaged and if you have receipts for the items purchased , better. In addition, you can include the photos and videos that you consider necessary. You can send everything to the appraiser. Oh, and don’t throw away any damaged items!
Don’t forget to keep copies of all the documentation you have provided to the appraiser.
How to fill out a fire damage insurance claim
Okay, now you know the steps you need to take to get compensation.
For which cases is a damage claim valid?
The answer could be that for everything that was included in the policy. But insurance companies usually include all of them:
- Traffic accident
- Break in some pipe
- Accident of any kind
- Broken Glass
- Theft
- Fire
- Leaks
- A fact that corresponds to civil liability
- Death (if life insurance)
- Humidity
And of course, as mentioned before, for any incident that is insured in the contract.
What tone to use in the insurance claim?
But in addition to all the information you have to include so that the compensation is correct, you must know how to fill out an insurance claim for fire damage step by step, because nobody is going to to help you do it. And any inconvenience that arises, will cause you to receive less compensation. In fact, if you do not include all the necessary data, they will fire you backwards, you will have to do it again, the term will be extended… it carries many risks.
Also, starting to fill out a claim is never a good idea. The nerves and anxiety of trying to explain everything correctly is very great. Depending on that letter you have a working home again. So calm down.
First of all, try not to annoy or offend the insurance, use a soft but decisive tone. The most important thing is that the language is cordial and calm.
All you have to do is explain with as soon as possible the cause of the compensation claim, include all damages and request insurance payment based on the cost of the damages. In appearance, something simple, but when there are too many items or areas of the house, it is complex.
Remember that you must consult the contract made with the insurance before making a sample letter for the insurance claim due to loss. In some cases, the points to be treated are not reviewed and this type of event may not be included in the insurance.
Also, keep in mind that, once the incident has occurred, you have a period of 7 days by law to formalize the claim. This time may vary depending on the insurance.hired driver.
What should a fire damage insurance claim include?
These are the data that cannot be missing from any claim form if your home has suffered a fire:
- First name, last name and identification number.
- Include what type of claim it is and the time it occurred.
- If there are others affected, add their data.
- If possible, include the data of your insurance policy.
- Date on which the situation occurred or was discovered.
- Where it happened, the cause of it and the different damages.
Now you know how to file a fire damage insurance claim, but we recommend you contact with a Public Adjuster in Florida like Alconero & Asssociates.
