Water Damage Claims

When you stop and realize that about two-thirds of the earth’s surface is covered by water and we need water to survive, it makes sense that at some point, and possibly multiple points in our lives, we will sustain some type of water damage to our house, business or personal property.

You may need the financial assistance that would come from submitting an insurance claim for water damage. Even if you do not need the financial assistance, you have been paying your premiums for situations such as these. In our opinion, you should receive the benefits provided by your policy you paid for to the fullest extent that your policy allows. However, to do this, you will need to file a claim for the water damage. The process does not stop with merely filing a claim and is only the beginning of what could be a very daunting process.

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Fire Insurance Claims

A fire to someone’s house or business is probably one of everybody’s main concerns and rightfully so. Not only can fire damage property but lives can be lost. I recently read that a fire occurs every 86 seconds in this country. It can happen to anyone and any time and it is never a convenient time when it does happen.

Fires can be attributed to electrical items, appliances, clothes dryers, fireplaces, boilers/ furnaces, chimney, barbecues, extensions cords, candles, space heaters and smokers among other things. A typical fire can engulf your building in as little as two minutes. Depending on the weather conditions and type of building materials and contents within, the fire can easily and quickly spread to the entire home or building. With fire comes massive amounts of smoke and water damages from the sprinkler system and/or fire department. It is likely that the fire department will damage additional items while putting out the fire. The monetary loss adds up quickly.

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Wind Damage Claims

Mother Nature is a force that just cannot be reckoned with. One of her main forces is wind. Wind can create all sorts of damage and be a safety hazard on many levels. Wind can come from any direction, at any speed and at any time-sometimes without even a warning. It can cause damage on all sides of your home, from the top to bottom of your home and allow interior damage. Most insurance policies in NY will cover wind damage.

Wind can uproot trees, lift and damage roof shingles, loosen or blow off your siding, blow off your chimney caps or blow over fences. Wind can lift all sorts of items making them projectiles that can end up crashing into your home and damaging it. The smallest of items can cause great damage when blown by wind. Wind can even force rain into the tiniest of crevices causing water damage to the inside of your home.

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Smoke Damage Claims

Have you ever heard the old saying “Where’s there’s smoke there is fire”? That is usually true. However, you do not always need a fire to have smoke. Smoke can come from any one of a number of sources and can penetrate more items than you could imagine.

If you have a heating system or water heater that is fueled by oil, you have a potential source of smoke damage in your home or building. Your system could have what is called a puff back. A puff back can occur when an oil-burning furnace does not ignite when it should. Oil vapors build up in the ignition chamber, causing an explosion when the igniter finally triggers. The explosion blows soot and other debris through the furnace’s exhaust system and into the heating system, which carries it into the house. The damages can be very visible to hardly noticeable. The one constant is that it is a real pain to clean and extremely time consuming. The discharged soot has an oily residue in it that makes ordinary cleaning products not effective.

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