The majority of policyholders who have ever been a victim of a fire or has suffered damages to their property (home, business, etc.) from a fire insurance claim will make costly mistakes during and after the claim has been settled. Unfortunately there always seems to be one grossly expensive mistake that most all policyholders make. It’s so simple that it’s hard to believe that people don’t even realize they have done it. Can you even imagine that many policyholder’s who has suffered a fire will rely solely on the insurance company adjuster’s opinion? They allow their adjuster to inspect their property, evaluate and process the claim, and create an estimate for the entire fire insurance claim… Without Any Questions. Imagine people like doctors, lawyers, accountants, willfully accepting the insurance adjuster’s own opinion without obtaining any comparisons, numbers from other contractors, or consulting a fire insurance claim professional. This is, without-a-doubt, the most costly mistake people will 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 knows your property like you do. There is much to do to properly prepare and configure a fire insurance claim that in most instances, items are forgotten or missed during the process. Especially if it’s done by someone at your insurance company. They don’t know about your building, your property, or your contents (furniture, clothing, etc.) like you do. How could they possibly be as accurate as you? Furthermore, just because an insurance company adjuster visits your property for an inspection does not mean they are a professional contractor, builder, or certified in fire and water damage restoration.
In the review of thousands of claims, it’s been found in most cases, both policyholders and insurance adjusters unknowingly miss multiple damages that are hidden from the naked-eye. In almost all instances reviewed policyholders have stated that they should have had a professional review their fire damage claims. However, they failed to know who. All assumed that the insurance company would take care of them and send out a professional adjuster that would provide all they needed. Preferably, when in such need one should consider contacting a fire insurance claims appraiser, a fire damage consultant, or a certified fire restoration contractor.
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. Existing Claim -
1. Document Your Building Damage: Take the time to inspect and document the damages yourself. Take photos of all damaged rooms in your building. Take overviews of the room and then take some close-up photos of the damaged ceilings, walls, floors, windows, doors, etc. of that room as well. Work your way around the building to the left (clock wise). Before entering the next room, closet, or hall – take an overview. This will be an easy way to organize which photos belong to which rooms. An example is; Overview of living room, then from top to bottom, photos of ceiling, walls, windows, doors, then the floor. Then the first photo of the next room is an overview, and so on. (No pictures or close-ups of contents yet, just the rooms.)
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 The Contents Damages: Next you will want to visit each room, hall, and closet again. However, for this go around you will be collecting the inventory of all contents in the rooms. In the same way we photographed the rooms; you will take an overview photograph of each individual piece of furniture, each set of shoes, each individual pair of pants, shoes, ect. After each individual overview is taken you will then take close-up photographs of the damage to that individual item as well. (Like water stains, smoke, or burn marks, etc.) List each individual item onto a Contents inventory Form. ( You can request one for free at http://www.insuranceclaimsgroup.com/contact-us.html ) The say way we took the photos of the rooms and write the list will also help organize them. For Example; Take an overview photograph of a room prior to entering. Let’s say your first room is the living room. Take an overview and then proceed around the room clockwise, to your left. Picture and list each item on left wall, then each wall after, until you return to the doorway where you began. It is very important that you do not bounce around the rooms. This helps keep the items and your list organized and ensures items will not be left out, forgotten or totally missed. After each individual item of the living room has been listed and photographed, continue to the next room. Again, you will start with the overview photograph of that new room. This also organizes the contents by the rooms they were in. Just as important is to list the names of the rooms at the top on each page of the list. The pictures and the lists are now both organized in sequential order with each other.
2. Closed Or Settled Claims -
2. Obtain Contents Damage Iventory Docs: As with the building items the adjuster has also taken pictures of the contents as well. If you have no pictures what so ever; or very minimal pictures of your belongings you can request all the pictures taken by the adjuster at the time of their inspection. You will also need to request a complete, detailed copy of the inventory list they compiled to arrive at their proposed settlement numbers. This is the type of documentation that will also be very useful for the fire insurance claim appraisers you choose.
3. Existing Claims -
3. Review Policy: Fire claim victims should always take time to read and review their insurance policies. Moss people have no idea of the basics, like; How much building allowance they? How much allowance for contents (clothing, furniture, electronics, etc.)? How much allowance to rent a home, rent furniture, or to stay in a hotel? Surprisingly, most policyholders have limited or absolutely no knowledge of such information. Usually this type of documentation gets destroyed in the fire. If such; people should visit their agents office and request a “certified true copy” of the policy they own. One should also ask the agent to advise how much coverage they hold for their property.
3. For Closed Claims -
3. Obtain Copies Of The Policy: Contact your insurance company or agent and request a certified copy of the “FULL” insurance policy and Declarations page at the time of the fire. This can be requested even if you have a different insurance company or if the loss was several years ago. Such documentation will be helpful at the time you consult with your fire insurance claim expert.
4. Existing Claims -
4. Consult A Professional: The insurance company will have an adjuster visit the property, inspect the damages, and complete an estimate on the amount of loss. It is important that you have the same process completed for yourself. How do you know the insurance adjuster is doing their job correctly? Are you willing to forfeit tens of thousands of dollars by not taking the time to make sure? The insurance company is supposed to explain all the fire insurance claim coverage that is available to the policyholder, however, this is rarely done. Sometimes it’s done on purpose, and other times it’s also done on purpose (Did you catch that? This is done on purpose more often than not.) It’s your property, it’s your policy, and it’s your money. Educate yourself to be sure you are being fully compensated for your loss. Hire a fire insurance claim professional to review the insurance company’s evaluation. Obtain your own “real-world” prices and costs to replace your property.
4. Closed Or Settled Claims -
4. Consult A Fire Professional: Have you obtained a fair settlement for your fire insurance claim? How can you be sure unless you ask someone who knows for sure? If you are not 100% sure if you have received fair settlement from the insurance company, you most definitely owe it to yourself to investigate. If you have collected and reviewed all the documents as outlined earlier; you will have sufficient documentation to consult the opinion of a professional. A quick review of your claim is all a fire insurance claim consultant needs to advise you where you stand. To leave yourself in the dark, with a notion of forfeiting tens of thousands or hundreds of thousands of dollars on the table – does not make much sense. A minimal fee to gain an understanding of where you stand is a tiny price to pay. Compare that to a large lump of insurance proceeds that you were not aware existed.
(Free Consultation: Fire insurance claims help is available. We will provide a free review of a present or closed insurance claim file at no cost. If needed; visit http://www.insuranceclaimsgroup.com/contact-us.html or feel free to call us at 919-669-9111. )
The reasons are clear and simple. The facts are this, the adjusters work directly for the insurance company, where the fire claims appraiser or consultant works directly for you. You already made the right choice by making sure you were properly insured. It is now up to you to continue with the next steps. That is to research that you have properly compensated for the policy you paid for.
Copyright of Insurance Claims Group, Inc. & Joseph P. Brennan: Learn more about http://www.fireinsuranceclaims.net and obtain a Free Consultation fire your fire insurance claims. Fire Insurance Claim Help (919) 669-9111.
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