Last Updated on Jan 21, 2021 by James W
Statistically, March almost always records the most number of house fires in the US. And as the month is fast approaching, it is a good idea to start brushing up on insurance claim policies or, if you do not have one yet, apply for one and hope it will not be too late.
This real and fast approaching threat is forcing everyone to start familiarising the process of filing for fire damage claim Los Angeles is known as a notorious spot for plenty of fires so the panic is now more evident in this area.
Homeowners and renters alike, always try to save as much as they can on insurance. Unfortunately, this goes against trying to mitigate the danger of losing everything to fire accidents. It is no secret how devastating a losing every possession you have to an unexpected fire incident. The successful fire damage claim Los Angeles, may at the very least soften that blow and if you do well enough, may negate the fire damage altogether.
It is often bad enough to have to rebuild from scratch after losing everything to a fire incident. The last thing you probably want is to approach your insurer only for them to give you a hard time. There are ways to ensure this does not happen though and these are:
Tip 1: Get money upfront to later deduct from your total collectible.
This is a nifty policy that fire insurance companies offers their clients. When your house burns down, you are going to need money immediately. This is not the same money you would need to rebuild, but at least something to whatever you will need until the house is rebuilt.
This includes money for a temporary living space that could be a hotel or an apartment. You will also need money for basic needs such as toiletries, food, and if you fail to save most of your clothes, the you are going to need to buy new clothes as well.
You should be warned, however, that there is a limit to the things that you should buy. There are exceptions that are often stipulated in insurance contracts that are put in place to insure that no one abuses cash advancement privileges.
The reason these conditions are put there is because if, for instance, the fire insurance claim gets lawfully rejected, the company will want your cash advance back and knowing that you may have lost a lot of equity to the fire, they might not be getting their money back very soon.
As much as possible, so you do not break any contract stipulations, you should buy only the bare necessities. You should keep all the receipts as well for future audit. Respecting the terms of the contract agreement will do you good if the claim goes to court.
Additionally, this advance will ultimately be deducted to the total claim that you are going to be getting from them, so you should not try to spend it all at once. Once the claim is settled, you will need the money to rebuild your house and your life.
Tip 3: Record anything and everything about all the properties included in the fire.
The best thing to do after a fire is to try to leave everything as it is as much as possible. The reason for this is so that you will be able prove to the insurance company that you did indeed lose the damaged items. Get a pen and paper to write all the things that were damaged by the fire. Using this list, along with picture proofs of the destroyed item, you can fast track your fire damage claim Los Angeles.
Tip 5: Get your fire insurance claim started as early as possible.
Claiming insurance of any shape or form often takes a long time. This is because it involves a lot of investigation to complete. The site in itself is not the only place where the insurance company would like to gather their facts but the actual household members as well. And finally, with the help of their legal team, they will try to exhaust all efforts to determine whether there is a foul play or not.
Due to this, as soon as you and your family are safe, immediately place a call to your insurance agent. Your agent should instantly know what to do despite not having enough information. This way, your insurance agent can get the ball rolling. Since insurance claims, as mentioned, can take quite a long time, you could save yourself the trouble of burning cash until you finally get your fire damage claim.
It has been proven time and time again how insanely complex it can be to claim your insurance money. There will be countless phone calls, texts, emails and face to face conversations before you even get a sniff of your rightful claim. Make sure to take note of all these communications and organize them for future reference. If you feel like you are being treated unfairly by the insurance company, make an effort to report them to the proper authorities so you will not be taken advantage of.
Tip 6: Do as much as you can to save your properties.
This is one of the terms of insurance contracts that insurance companies are going to try to press you on. Homeowners, knowing that they are fully covered by their insurance, have a propensity to almost willfully accept that their house is now burned, that they can’t do anything about it, and they actually will not do anything.
These violates terms of insurance stipulating that the owner should do the best he/she can to save his/her properties. This means trying to stop the fire as soon as possible, moving flammable material out of fire’s way, and barricading the house to keep trespassers and looters from entering.
Tip 7: Do not skip paying your premiums.
Schemes vary from insurance company to another but one thing for certain is that they will frown upon missed payments. Your insurance claim may lose coverage should it be discussed in the contract to ensure prompt payments.
