How Do Public Adjusters Handle Fire Damage Insurance Claims?

If your home was recently damaged by a fire, and your insurance company is dragging its heels with regards to processing your claim, you should hire a public insurance adjuster to help you.

Public adjusters are not only trained to identify and analyze fire damages, but they can also prove to your insurance company that such damages fall under your insurance policy.

So if you want to know how public adjusters can help you file your claim for fire damages then here’s what you need to know. 

Do You Really Need The Help of A Public Adjuster to Process Your Fire Damage Claim? 

Fire damage claims cover all types of fire damages, such as scorched walls and burned furniture. Fortunately, filing a claim for fire damages is usually easy, and most insurance companies are prepared to cover your damages once you have presented the necessary documents and photos. 

However, the same can’t be said for claims that cover ash, soot, and smoke damage. Identifying such damages is not only difficult, but they are also subject to multiple interpretations. For example, let’s say that certain parts of your home were stained by soot and ash.

If the stains are minor, your insurance company may not recognize them as part of the fire that damaged your property. They may even argue that the stains were caused by dirt, in which case they will be able to avoid paying you the damages that you’re entitled to receive. 

Moreover, fires can cause other types of problems. For example, there are situations where a fire can damage critical pipes and plumbing fixtures, causing water leaks and water damage in the process.

In other cases, a fire may damage chemical containers and electrical wires, causing chemical and electrical hazards in the process. 

Most insurance companies are willing to take advantage of these complications to avoid paying what they owe to their policy holders. If you are facing these kinds of problems then you should hire a public adjuster as soon as possible. 

Public adjusters are not only trained to present the facts of your claim in a fair and just manner, but they can also anticipate loopholes that your insurance company may use to avoid paying your full coverage.

And if you are looking for experts to help repair or inspect your home, your public adjuster can help you find them. So if you’re processing a claim for fire damages then you should hire a public adjuster as soon as possible. 

How Do Public Adjusters Process Fire Damage Claims? 

When you hire a public adjuster to look at the fire damages to your home, the first thing that they will do is evaluate every damaged part of your property. The duration of this evaluation process will vary depending on the amount of fire damage sustained by your property. 

Also, some public adjusters charge a fixed fee for their evaluation services, while others do it for free. Either way, they will provide you with their basic findings as soon as they are finished with their evaluations. 

If you decide to hire the public adjuster, they will provide you with a complete report, including documentation and recordings meant to help you file your insurance claim. 

Your public adjuster will also carry out the following tasks: 

1. 1. They will review and examine your insurance policy for you. 
2. 2. They will document and analyze all your losses, including fire damages, smoke damages, disposal costs, health hazard costs, water damage costs, and various others. 
3. 3. They may also work with third parties to inspect your property and to substantiate most of the fire damages found during their initial inspections. 
4. 4. If you’re a business owner, they may also prepare a document which details your business’ losses due to operation interruptions. 
5. 5. They will calculate the total cost of repairing all fire damages to your property, including soot removal, smoke damage repair, trash disposal and more. 

Once all of these issues have been taken care of, your public adjuster will present his or her findings to you for approval. If you like their findings then they will use them to negotiate with your insurance company. 

Situations Where You Need the Help of a Public Adjuster 

Here are several examples of situations where a public adjuster can help you process your claim for fire damages. 

1. 1. When you don’t know how much damage your property has sustained from the fire.
2. 2. When your insurance company is trying to deny your claim due to a technicality. 
3. 3. When you don’t know how much money it will take to repair your home’s damages. 
4. 4. When the fire has damaged your pipes and fixture. 
5. 5. When the fire has damaged your electrical wires.
6. 6. When the fire has damaged hazardous chemical containers. 
7. 7. When your insurance company insists that there are several fire hazards at your home. 
8. 8. When your insurance company insists that the damages to your home are not particularly severe. 
9. 9. When your insurance company’s insurance adjusters are actively misrepresenting their findings. 
10. 10. When you need someone who can speak to your insurance company on your behalf. 

Finally, it’s worth mentioning that some insurance claims can drag on for weeks. So it helps if you have someone who can help you speed up the process. Even if the facts of your claim are in your favor, your insurance company may still pressure you to accept a smaller amount if you are in a hurry to start repairs. 

Fire accidents happen all the time. They can be small and isolated or they can be very devastating, but if they happen to your home then you will need to file your insurance claim as soon as possible. A public insurance adjuster can help you do this, and they can also represent you when you need to face your insurance company. 

Public adjusters – particularly those with a lot of experience handling fire damage claims – will not only help you get the damages that you deserve, they can also do most of the work of processing your claim for you.