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.

I hope that your loved ones will all get out safe and unharmed if you sustain a fire. Most everything else (barring sentimental items) can be replaced which is why you have insurance for your home or business. After the damage is done, you will have to put your life back together which is a daunting process in and of itself. You’ll need to locate clean up companies, fire repair contractors of various sorts, apply for building permits and replace your personal or business items all while finding a temporary place to stay or to temporarily resume business operations.

If you have a mortgage or business loan, you will need to continue making payments even though the fire may have destroyed your property. In the meantime, you will be laying out money for things like hotels, boarding the premises, meals out, temporary rent or storage and replacement of essential items. Now add the process of filing an insurance claim for fire damages to this list and you will become beyond overwhelmed. How are you going to pay for this when you have likely had to take time off work or cease to operate your business?

You will need to file an insurance claim for the fire, water and smoke damages. If you have a valid insurance policy at the time of loss, in most instances, many of the items damaged will be covered under your policy. However, the claims process can be a confusing maze of legal speak and requirements which most people are not familiar with. If you misstep the process, you can easily jeopardize your coverage and receive less funds than you would have if you followed the “rules”.

At Armor Adjusting, as your public/ private adjuster, we can help ease this process for you. We can help you file the claim, advise you of the claims process and help you navigate through it by doing most of the work for you. We will read and analyze the policy to determine what conditions you must follow, what is covered under the policy and submit all of the required documents on your behalf. We will  meet with the insurance company’s adjuster whether it be a staff adjuster or independent adjuster. We will fiercely negotiate your claim with the insurance company’s representative to make sure we get you the most reimbursement that we can for your damages. We have over 25 years of experience dealing with fire damage claims and appreciate the hardship it can cause along with the ensuing emotional toll it takes. In your time of need, we will not only stand behind you but we will stand in front of you too.