Understanding Commercial Fire Claims

5/26/2022 (Permalink)

Just like how firefighters have a plan and process to handle a blaze, you too should use caution and prepare.

Fire Claim Process

While a blaze burning through your facility and your inventory is devastating enough, the cleanup after a fire can leave your property and your business boarded up for months. Therefore, it is essential to start the fire claim process immediately so that you can minimize the extent of the business interruption and get back to work quickly.

1. Call Your Insurer

While the first calls you make are to emergency services and family, the third call you should make after a fire is to your insurer. You want to make this call immediately after a fire to ensure that the claims process is initiated at the earliest possible moment. The longer you wait to make a claim, the longer it will take to get your business back up and running.

2. Mitigate Further Damage and Loss

After you initiate the fire claim, you may want to consider having your facility boarded up, mitigating further damage and loss. If you already have a plan in place with a restoration expert, then call them and get the process started.

3. Keep Receipts

As you begin the cleanup, be sure to track all your expenses by saving and tallying the receipts for any expenditures. When the adjuster arrives, they will want a full record of the damages incurred and the mitigation efforts made to reduce further property loss and damage.

4. Make a Record of Loss

Additionally, you should walk your property, photographing all damages to show your insurance adjuster. This record of loss will be used when evaluating your claim. You should also include any relevant receipts for the damaged property so your insurer can create an accurate valuation of the overall loss.

A fire claim may seem like a confusing process, but as with every bureaucratic process, there are appropriate steps to take. After a fire, just make sure to call your insurer, mitigate further damage, keep receipts, and make a record of loss.