[dropcap]T[/dropcap]he occurrence of fires is becoming increasingly widespread, most especially in California. This is why insurance companies are already constantly trying to cut out on insurance claims related to fire so to be able to save up money. The increase in fire threats is one main reason why fire insurance claim in Los Angeles are becoming very challenging. It is very devastating when you lose your home and your personal properties that you have works so hard to have. This is why it is really crucial that you have set up an insurance policy on your properties so that in unlikely catastrophes that will lead to the destruction of your property, at least there can still be something left for you to start over.
In the processing your insurance claim, it is unavoidable that you might be encountering difficulties along the way, thus here are some bits of advice that you can follow when you need to deal with insurance companies in relation to processing your insurance claims:
1. Seek Expert Advice On Your Fire Insurance Claim
In the event that you are forced to evacuate because the conditions are already posing to a threat on you and your family’s safety, chances are you might not have been able to get a hold of some basic necessities like clothes or toiletries. Some of these might even be lost or destroyed because of the fire. The first thing that you can do is to contact your insurance company and ask them to send over someone to bring a check for an amount sufficient for you to purchase your necessities without the need to wait up on your ultimate insurance coverage.
When you are taking care of your needs, you have to be practical and not be capricious. This is because when you choose to splurge from such, there might be a chance that the insurance company will not reimburse your expenses because it is frivolous.
You will also have to bear in mind that the expenses from such purchases shall be deducted from the total amount of the proceeds that you will be receiving from the insurance company.
2. Take Complete Inventory Of What You Lost
Make sure that you have taken account and inventoried everything that you have possibly lost from the fire
As soon as you have settled in after such disaster, you need to account the properties that you might have lost because of the fire. This is very useful and must be made the earliest time possible so that you can still have a more accurate account of the properties that have been destroyed. This will ensure that you have possibly included everything that you have lost by the time that you will be filing for your fire insurance claim.
If you can take photos or retain any residuals from the things that have been destroyed, then it will be much preferred because this will be easier for you to prove that the list that you have is accurate.
3. File Your Claims Right Away
After you have taken account on the property damages brought by the fire, you will then have to file your fire insurance claim right away, and if possible, pressure the insurance company to take action in processing your claim as soon as possible.
All types of insurance policies will always require the policyholders to file their insurance claim at the earliest time possible. So after such occurrence, and you have made sure that you are already in safety, you will have to start calling you insurance agent immediately so that you will have your fire insurance claim process to commence. The insurance company will then require you to provide them proof of loss claim, and this is why making a list is very essential. The list should also reflect the value of the properties that you have lost. If there are other homeowners who also suffered losses because of the fire, then acting on your claim promptly will be very crucial so that you will be on top of the list of policyholders who are processing their insurance claims. Your claim should contain the following information:
- Date of the loss
- The type of loss or damage
- The location of such damage
- If there may have been any related injuries
- If there are others who are involved
- Your current home condition
- The description of the damaged contents
- If there will be any necessary temporary repairs
- Police report
There will be a lot of correspondence that is going to occur when you start processing your insurance claim, so you will have to make sure that you keep track of every conversation, and if possible, store that correspondence for future reference.
You have to make sure that you keep all of the original documents, so when the insurance company is asking for a specific document, give them only a copy of such document and store the original one. You must be really organized so that when disputes might arise, you know for yourself that you have the right documents to defend your claim.
In California, the laws and regulations require such insurance companies to disseminate a notice of intentions to comply within 30 days of receiving a fire insurance claim. So in the event that your claim will not have any type of disputes, then you should be able to receive your insurance proceeds within that time frame as well.
4. Consider Hiring A Public Adjuster
If you are not able to reach to an acceptable settlement, even if you have already hired the services of an independent estimator or contractor, you might then want to consider hiring the services of a public adjuster who will be the one to do the negotiation with your insurance company. There are people who are apprehensive with dealing with public adjusters because of additional cost, but you will then have to consider if the benefits will outweigh the cost. And if it does, hiring public adjusters will be worth it because they most of the time succeed in getting you a significantly higher amount than what you would have probably received.
