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A house (or office) fire is everyone\u2019s worst nightmare.\u00a0 It happens quickly, but its devastation is long lasting \u2013 and no one is prepared for it.\u00a0 Here are some tips about what to do if disaster strikes:<\/p>\nA house (or office) fire is everyone\u2019s worst nightmare.\u00a0 It happens quickly, but its devastation is long lasting \u2013 and no one is prepared for it.\u00a0 Here are some tips about what to do if disaster strikes:<\/p>\n
Do this immediately.\u00a0 Ask your agent to report the claim to your insurance company.\u00a0 Ask the agent for the phone number to the claims office, the name of your adjuster, your claim number, and any other information you will need in order to contact the adjuster yourself in the future.<\/strong>\u00a0 Although your agent probably won\u2019t know this information right away, they should call you back shortly with that information.\u00a0 ALSO \u2013 be sure to get a copy of your insurance policy and<\/u> the Declarations Page.<\/strong><\/p>\n The Policy is a generic booklet that doesn\u2019t have your name on it.\u00a0 It explains the various types of insurance coverage you have and what you must do in order to qualify for benefits.\u00a0 The Declarations Page has your name on it and tells the dates when coverage applies and the types and amounts of insurance coverage you have.\u00a0 Important things to look for are whether you have \u201cReplacement Cost Coverage\u201d<\/strong> and \u201cBuilding Code Upgrades\u201d<\/strong> coverage.<\/p>\n You will incur many expenses from food to lodging to replacing your personal property and home.\u00a0 Some of these expenses will be covered, if you have proof of them.\u00a0 The insurance company will require receipts for everything.<\/strong>\u00a0 The more organized you are, the quicker and easier the insurance company will be able to pay your claim.<\/p>\n Whether you are planning to buy another home or rebuild your home, you will need to find a place to stay.\u00a0 Your insurance company\u2019s \u201cAdditional Living Expense\u201d<\/strong> coverage will reimburse you for the cost of a place to stay and food to eat (to an extent).\u00a0 If you stay with friends or family, it probably won\u2019t reimburse you because you haven\u2019t incurred a cost, so it is better to go ahead and use your insurance coverage and find a place to live temporarily.<\/p>\n If you had Replacement Cost Coverage for your personal property or home, your insurance company will pay you for the cost of actually replacing the items you lost.\u00a0 If you don\u2019t have this coverage, you will only be reimbursed for the value of what you lost at the time it was destroyed.\u00a0 This is usually \u201cgarage sale value.\u201d\u00a0 However, you must purchase \u201clike kind and quality\u201d goods to reimburse what you lost<\/strong>.\u00a0 If you buy a more expensive item, the insurance company will not pay you the difference.\u00a0<\/strong><\/p>\n The insurance company will require you to file a Notice of Claim or an Inventory<\/strong> listing all of the items that were destroyed, the date you acquired them, the cost of the goods when you acquired them, their value when they were destroyed, and the cost you spent to replace them.\u00a0 Do your best to locate receipts of your original purchases<\/strong> \u2013 credit card statements are a great place to start.\u00a0 You may also be able to use photographs to prove you had the item and its quality.<\/p>\n The insurance company will be investigating you at the same time it is investigating your claim.\u00a0 Insurance fraud is a serious matter and can result in not only the denial of your claim, but also your criminal prosecution and imprisonment<\/strong>.\u00a0 People who have had legitimate fire losses have found themselves on the wrong side of the law because they lied about their contents claim and listed items they didn\u2019t own or exaggerated their value or quality.\u00a0 Do NOT lie to the insurance company, even a little.\u00a0 Insurance companies routinely work with law enforcement and will tell on you if they think you are committing insurance fraud.<\/strong><\/p>\n You are required to cooperate with your insurance company, but if it demands that you submit to an Examination Under Oath, it is very likely that the insurance company is suspicious of you and your claim.<\/strong>\u00a0 If this happens, you need an attorney immediately<\/em>.<\/strong>\u00a0 Do NOT submit to an Examination Under Oath without first hiring an attorney who is experienced in litigating insurance claims and representing clients at Examinations Under Oath.<\/p>\n\n
Read Your Insurance Policy and Declarations Page.<\/strong><\/h3>\n<\/li>\n<\/ol>\n
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Keep Your Receipts and Be Organized!!<\/strong><\/h3>\n<\/li>\n<\/ol>\n
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Find a Place to Stay.<\/strong><\/h3>\n<\/li>\n<\/ol>\n
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\u201cLike Kind and Quality.\u201d <\/strong><\/h3>\n<\/li>\n<\/ol>\n
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Find Proof of What You Lost.<\/strong><\/h3>\n<\/li>\n<\/ol>\n
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ALWAYS Tell the Truth! <\/strong><\/h3>\n<\/li>\n<\/ol>\n
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Contact a Lawyer Immediately<\/u> if the Insurance Company Demands an \u201cExamination Under Oath.\u201d <\/strong><\/h3>\n<\/li>\n<\/ol>\n
If you\u2019re in need of a lawyer, call Nelson Boyd\u00a0at 206-971-7601.<\/h3>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"","protected":false},"author":4,"featured_media":2223,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":[],"categories":[2,308],"tags":[114,34,340,341,337,26,339,38,46,118,338,122],"acf":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.nelsonboydlaw.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2220"}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.nelsonboydlaw.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.nelsonboydlaw.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.nelsonboydlaw.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/4"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.nelsonboydlaw.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=2220"}],"version-history":[{"count":4,"href":"https:\/\/www.nelsonboydlaw.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2220\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":3167,"href":"https:\/\/www.nelsonboydlaw.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2220\/revisions\/3167"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.nelsonboydlaw.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/2223"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.nelsonboydlaw.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=2220"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.nelsonboydlaw.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=2220"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.nelsonboydlaw.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=2220"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}