Fire damage claims

Contamination from smoke, soot, char, and ash or other hazardous materials burned can cause damage and significant contamination impact to all property types within range. An industrial hygienist is a qualified expert trained to assess the impact of these contaminants across all exterior/interior building surfaces, indoor air, as well as soil.

Cause and origin experts are typically hired by insurance companies to determine how a fire started and make sure arson was not involved. It is very common for them to be deployed and shouldn’t cause concern.

Immediately after a fire, the policyholder has obligations to prevent further damage to the property. Using the recommended company to do so is fine unless you have someone else in mind. However, it is important to know your rights and review any contracts before signing. Be cognizant that you have limits for your building and contents that will apply to mitigation AND reconstruction.

After an extensive fire, most properties will take several months to get back to operational. Business Interruption coverage will pay for income lost during this time.

Extra expense coverage pays for a policyholder’s additional costs while recovering from a major disruption. Examples of additional costs covered can include moving your business to a temporary site while your main location is restored, buying or leasing equipment for your temporary site, paying employees overtime or hiring temporary workers during the transition.

If you have a claim denial or a partially denied claim, it is a good idea to have a licensed public adjuster or attorney review the file to provide a secondary coverage opinion. Our team can review your claim for free.

A qualified restoration contractor can provide an estimate and guide you through the residential claims process. However, if you own or manage a commercial property, policies become more complex and require more detailed reviews of coverage. Oftentimes, insurance companies will require detailed estimates written in a software program, Xactimate. And unfortunately, the vast majority of commercial property claims are underpaid. Our team is certified in Xactimate and includes one of only 48 Xactimate Certified Trainers in the nation. We also have the insurance knowledge and industry expertise you need to ensure your claim is filed accurately, negotiated professionally and paid fairly.

A public adjuster can help with scaling your company by taking out the everyday minutia of writing an estimate, corresponding with stakeholders and insurance company reps and navigating policy intricacies. We also have the training and expertise to handle claim red flags on behalf of you and your customer, including when/if to engage an engineer, policy coverage, delays, unwarranted denials or underpayment. Furthermore, there are legal limits to what a contractor can do when dealing with insurance claims. Contractors working with policyholders should check the public adjuster statutes in their jurisdiction to ensure they are not acting as an unlicensed public adjuster when assisting in claims.