What To Do When Filing a Fire Insurance Claim

2/18/2020 (Permalink)

Kitchen fire in Celebration, FL

Steps to Take After You Have Experienced a Fire In Your Home

A fire can cause a lot of damage to your Celebration, FL home, and fire restoration can include a lot of cleanup and repairs. Fires are usually included in your homeowners insurance, so any damage to your house and property should be covered if you file a claim. Here are the steps you should take after you have experienced a fire in your home.

1. Call Your Insurance Agent
The first thing that you should do if your home has been damaged is call your agent to file a fire insurance claim. The sooner you do this, the better. It can take a while for your claim to be completed, so you don’t want to wait too long to begin. Depending on your policy, you may be required to submit your claim within a certain time period of the incident which is another reason that you should do so as soon as possible.

2. Document the Damage
In order for the insurance company to compensate you for anything that will need to be repaired during fire restoration, it is important that they know exactly what was damaged in the fire. Consider keeping a list of affected items and be sure not to throw anything away as it will serve as proof of the damage. Taking pictures of areas that need smoke cleaning might be helpful as well.

3. Take Steps To Prevent Further Damage
If you do not take proper care of your property and further damage occurs, the insurance company may not cover this. Calling a fire restoration company to help mitigate the property is a good idea. They can board up any damaged walls and windows as well as place tarps on missing roof areas.

In order to get the most from your fire insurance claim, you should be sure to file it as soon as possible after a fire has occurred. Keep track of lost and damaged items and do what you can to prevent more damage to make the process go more smoothly.