Fire accidents are quite common and also the most devastating in nature. On an average each year more than 1 million houses in the U.S. face major to minor fire incidents. It is therefore very important to that one should know about the steps that one must take while claiming insurance for fire damages. We have compiled some tips for you to make sure that you navigate through the process of claiming and claim handling with ease.
- The first step should be contacting your insurance company. Tell them all about the incident and give details. it is always easy to claim a when you have informed the related authorities in time. Some of these companies have some criteria about the time in which you must contact them after the incident has occurred.
- Check your policy if the paper mentions whether you have to notify the company with a written application or by a phone call. You must consider making an advanced complaint or request to your insurance carrier for any additional help that you require till the claim money is processed. They can provide you with temporary shelter, clothing, food and travel etc. All the essentials basically till the time your life gets back to normal or till the time you find a suitable place for yourself to rehabilitate to.
- Books and records for the businesses needs to be secured as the insurers will definitely like to give it a look or may speculate the trends in the closely to monitor the income and make sure that the fire incident is not caused to cover bad debts. Often insurance agencies have a great appreciation for those who are honest and come clean. But they are always speculative about those who refrain from disclosing the account books and bank statements.
- Keep the proofs. Click photographs from your mobile or camera and keep them as proof of the incidence. It may be the last thing that will come to your mind at the time of fire, but you must not undermine the validity and value that it can provide for your claim process. Also keep the proofs and receipts for all your temporary expenses so that there is a valid evidence of the troubles that you faced.
Conclusion
Fire accidents can be nasty and the claim process can be an uphill task especially in a condition where you have already suffered a loss to your most valuable asset. Talk to the experts in handling such cases and be more educative about the fire claims.