A fire at your home or business is one of the most devastating events that can happen. We manage fire damage claims for policyholders regularly, and we have seen how traumatic a fire can be and how vulnerable it can leave people.
We’ve put together a few important tips, that’ll help you through the initial aftermath of a fire;
- Firstly and most importantly In the event of a fire, your number one priority is to get all of the occupants out of the building immediately and stay a safe distance away. That means not stopping to try and salvage items, the fire will spread rapidly without warning and won’t give you a chance to escape.
- Once you are away from the property, raise the alarm to emergency services and under no circumstances, re-enter the building. Remember Your Buildings, contents and possessions can be replaced, you and your family cannot.
- Many home insurance policies include alternative accommodation, so check yours. It may take a while for your insurance company to visit, you may have to source short term accommodation in a local hotel, B&B or family members until you have an agreement with your insurance loss adjuster.
- Following the fire, do not re-enter the building until a registered building surveyor or engineer has had a chance to carry out an initial survey and has allowed re-entry. There may be unforeseen structural damage to the building, damage to electrical services, gas pipework etc making the site unsafe and dangerous. A fire damaged building may be unstable and can pose countless risks to health and safety, leading to serious injury or death.
- Shortly after the fire, you as the policyholder will be tasked and responsible for assessing your claim correctly and formulating a claims management strategy. This will include liaising with architects, engineers, quantity surveyors, building contractors, fire damage remediation contractors, fire safety engineers, forensic engineers, along with compiling a full inventory of contents and possessions, with costings. As you are your own sole representative, it’s up to you to present your claim to your insurer’s loss adjuster, prove your loss, show the full extent of the damage and then agree the settlement with the adjuster.
If you don’t fancy leaving it to chance or are uncertain about handling your insurance claim, one call to us and we’ll manage the whole claims process for you. We offer full claims management, and you, the policyholder, stay in full control of your claim throughout.
Find out how we help with fire damage insurance claims.