FIRE DAMAGE INSURANCE CLAIMS
CALL THE EXPERTS AT OCEAN POINT CLAIMS TO HELP YOU THROUGH THE CLAIMS PROCESS.
It doesn’t matter if your fire damage claim is small, or it is a large loss fire claim you should be aware that there are often hidden damages such as water damage from the fire department that causes mold. There will be soot on all surfaces throughout the structure as well as in the HVAC ducts. This affects the air quality causing it to be dangerous breath. There are many things to consider when a fire occurs. These items include: the local and state building code and the state matching statute. With nearly all fires Ordinance or Law coverage is overlooked. “O&L” coverage allows for code upgrades after a covered loss. This is why it is important to hire a private adjuster to insure the maximum under your policy is paid to you.
What to do after a Fire?
After you call 911, call us! A fire in your home is always scary and it can leave you feeling vulnerable. Since, a fire is a high-pressure situation, we want to help you through it. Helping the public is what we do, and we never charge for advice. Even if you don’t plan on hiring a public adjuster, we are here to answer your questions. Call us at (888) 824-1306 today!
We can’t stress this one enough. Take a lot of photos and video of the damage. You can’t take too many photos after a fire. Photos help document your damages to your home, business and personal property. When taking video, move the camera slower than you think you need to as you may rely on the videos someday if you’re underpaid. Go room by room and don’t forget the exterior. Feel free to narrate your video, your words can be very powerful to a jury should your insurance company mishandle your claim.
As soon as possible, notify your insurance company and or insurance agent. Immediately request that a certified copy of your insurance policy be sent to you. This is your insurance contract and you don’t know what you’re covered for if you don’t have your policy. Remember, it may have burned up in the fire. If your home is unlivable, call the Red Cross.
Get a notebook and folder, you must get and remain organized. You will regret this if you don’t. Write down the name and contact information for everyone that you speak with after the loss and during claims process. Again, it is best to start this immediately after the fire. If you do not hire a public adjuster to handle your claim, make sure to make a log of every person, date and time that you speak to at the insurance company. Keep business cards that you receive with these notes. Don’t forget to write down all of your expenses and keep the receipts in your fire folder.
Never hire a contractor of any kind within the first 48 hours after the fire other than a board up company. Take this time to gather your thoughts and emotions so that you are not making hasty decisions during a critical time in your life. If you have questions about this, feel free to call us, even if you’re not our client. Fires are horrible and we are here to help however we can! Ask yourself this, why hire a disaster recovery company when your home or business may be a total loss. This company may only be taking money from you that should be applied to replacement and not repair.
Gather your valuable and important documents if you can. The reason for this is obvious, but you might not be thinking that your home or business may be broken into or rummaged through after a fire by individuals. Take jewelry, financial records, passports and anything that is personal. Fire victims don’t think of the possibly of identity theft. After a fire, there is nothing worse than your credit being ruined too. It is a good idea to sign up for credit monitoring, just in case. Do not forget to inventory and photograph these items before they are removed. The insurance adjuster will want to confirm that the items were there during the fire.
Be aware after a fire & do your
homework – here is why:
The moment we see fire we call 911 right? Yes!
When 911 dispatch sends the call to the fire department the message is also being heard by more than just the first responders. Be aware, after a fire there will be an absurd amount of shameless door knockers. The people knocking on your door or calling you will range companies such as a general contractor, roofer / roofing company, board-up services / board-up company, smoke damage removal and cleanup company, fire damage restoration company, personal property damage company. You will even have a knock or two from a fire damage public adjuster or public adjustor. It is important to remember that you are going through a hard time in your life and that you do not need to be signing any papers or contracts from individuals that show up after they have heard on a police scanner that you have suffered fire damage until you have had the opportunity to review thoroughly. They will attempt to pressure you into signing an assignment of benefits form, also known as an AOB.Â
While assigning the benefits of your policy allows the individual to collect their fees from the insurance company directly, these contracts are tricky, and you could be signing away your rights to items such as your personal belongings coverage. These companies may even place a lien on your property if the insurance company doesn’t pay. Do your homework and research as wrong decisions after a fire can have long lasting consequences regarding what you recover from your fire insurance claim. The door-knockers may not be licensed, bonded or insured. When a fire damage loss occurs, it can be very disruptive to your life and can happen to your home or business. It is very important to process what has happened as you make the crucial and correct short-term decisions while under an incredible amount of stress, confusion and a lot of times, fear. Ocean Point Public Adjusters will never knock on your door during a time of duress. We are here to answer your questions and guide you in the right direction to assist you in restoring your life to the way it was before the loss occurred. Call us after you call 911!
Should I hire an expert?
Fire Damage Public Adjuster Near Me
While doing your homework as mentioned above, take the time to read what Consumer Reports says with regards to filing an insurance claim after a fire loss. It is important to find a public adjuster early in the fire insurance claim process to avoid making mistakes with restoration contractors and the insurance company.
Insurance Attorney or Public Adjuster
Often policyholders will get confused whether they should be looking to hire an attorney or public adjuster to take care of their fire damage claim. An insurance lawyer and public adjuster have a valuable advocacy role in the claims process. To make sure that you obtain value from both, we would tell our prospective clients to a public adjuster early in the process manage your fire and smoke insurance claim. Should you be denied, have appraisal invoked or legal issues arise that the we cannot handle would we provide a list of insurance attorneys that do not charge you once they receive a settlement on your behalf. The best part is, the insurance lawyers that we work with do not take any portion of your settlement. They are paid by your insurance company. Most attorneys charge you a percentage. We will never bring you and industry expert that charges you. When you hire Ocean Point Claims Company you obtain access to our complete network of experts. the extra expense and time to hire an attorney.
Our immediate process
Where there is fire there is smoke, soot, heat, and the water used by the local fire department can cause fungi growth. If your fire is substantial, all of these will elements connect rendering a dwelling or commercial property unlivable and or unusable. Ocean Point’s first objective in preparing and analyzing policy your claim for filing with the insurance company is to assess the scope of loss to see how the policy language applies to the specific situations of your loss. We will also obtain the services of industry experts such as a structural engineer, appliance and electronics technician, and smoke cleanup / restoration companies. These experts should be employed to properly formulate an accurate and comprehensive plan of action returning you to pre-loss condition.
We will determine to what extent your home, personal property or commercial property is damaged. Are you dealing with a repairable structure or a total loss? That is why Ocean Point is so valuable as we have the expertise to determine these facts and make sure the insurance company sees the same. Remember, it’s in their best interest to pay you the least amount of money. If you need a place to stay temporarily, we can point you in the right direction for help with temporary housing. We can also secure the services of the Red Cross for you! It never makes good financial sense to waste your resources on quick repairs when the chances are very high that we will get you paid to replace them in the end. The primary reason for insurance disputes is exactly this. It all comes down to the insurance adjuster’s opinion. We are experienced and licensed public adjusters and we make sure that logic is applied with coverage and not the personal opinion of the insurance company adjuster. One of the most common and potentially costly mistakes we see policyholders make is to sign authorization forms from “disaster restoration” firms which give these firms authorization to remove or attempt to repair items that may in fact be a total loss. This cost will be subtracted from the policy limits that may be needed to pay for items that are clearly a total loss.
Insurance Forms:
Your insurance company may present you with blank forms to fill out. Never fill these out without consulting the advice of an expert first. Some of these documents are sworn, such as a proof of loss or POL. Even if you’re not our client, call us anyways, we will provide the best answers for you that we can!
