How Do I Submit a Claim Following a Fire?

10/7/2022 (Permalink)

Get in contact with your Insurance agent

How Do I Submit a Claim Following a Fire?

Calling your agent is the first thing you should do after a fire damages your commercial property. Call the insurance provider directly and explain what happened if you can't immediately get in touch with the agent. Then, leave the house as soon as you can to allow firefighters to do their jobs. Do not discard anything until an adjuster has seen it; instead, take photos and videos of everything. To avoid additional damage and stay within the repair budget set forth in your insurance policy, try to make temporary repairs yourself. Keep all receipts for reimbursement purposes, please!

Call your agent right away.

Call the insurance provider directly and ask how to submit a claim if you're unsure that you can get through to your home or commercial property's fire insurance agent. Contact your agent or the insurance provider right away if you have a home fire insurance policy.

If you're unsure that you can reach your agent, contact the insurance provider directly and inquire about the claim-filing process.

If you're unsure that you can reach your agent, contact the insurance provider directly and inquire about the claim-filing process. You can get in touch with your claims adjuster by asking the insurance provider any questions you may have about insurance in general.

If the fire is small enough that it's contained within one room of your home, it's possible that only part of your property is damaged—and that should be covered by homeowner's or renters’ insurance. If this is the case and the damage isn't extensive enough for an adjuster to visit and assess, there's no need for you to file a claim right away.

Document everything with photos and video.

This step is extremely important, especially if you plan to submit a claim. Before you begin repairs, take photos of all damage and the state of your room. If you can, move around the room while taking photos to capture a variety of perspectives of what has happened to your possessions.

Regarding video, it's great if your smartphone or camera can record both stills and video at once (some can), but even if it can't, don't worry about taking separate clips for each part; this is just as good if it depicts how the scene appeared before and after the fire occurred.

Also, take pictures of receipts for damaged items—and make sure they're legible!

Keep track of all broken items, and don't forget to add any receipts from the house you can find buried in the wreckage.

It's crucial to keep a list of all damaged items after a fire. If you can locate any receipts for replacement items or temporary repairs, be sure to include that information as well.

Even if only a portion of a room was damaged by fire, you should take pictures or videos of everything in your house before you start making repairs because you might need to show the adjuster how the item looked before damage occurred.

You should list all of your possessions and keep a running tally of their respective values. To estimate an item's value based on its condition and the year it was produced, use an online valuation tool like EstimateMD's helpful-ness guide (yes, that's right).

Make temporary repairs yourself to prevent further damage. 

Making temporary repairs by yourself will help stop further damage. These expenses must be covered by your insurance up to a certain limit. But keep in mind that you'll need to save every receipt if you want to be reimbursed.

Call your insurance agent right away if there has been a fire. Ask the insurance company how to submit a claim if you are unsure if you can reach your agent. Record everything on camera and in video. Keep a list of everything that is broken, and be sure to include any receipts from the house you can find among the debris. Never dispose of anything before the adjuster has seen it. Take pictures or videos of every room in your house before making repairs, even if only a portion of it was damaged by fire, as you might need to show them what it looked like before the damage occurred.