Documenting Property Damage: Essential Tips For Successful Claims In The Uae – Insurance Claim Help (79) Policy Owner (26) Government Regulators (22) Property Damage (21) Insurance Policy (12) Commercial Property Insurance (10)
After a house fire, what was once normal is now chaos and everything requires your immediate attention. One of the things you don’t want to fall through the cracks is documenting your losses. Making sure you have ample documentation of your damages and recovery efforts is essential in negotiating a full and fair settlement for your homeowners insurance claim. The photos tell a powerful story. Create a photo journal of your loss that documents the full extent of the damage and your recovery efforts. If possible, collect pictures from the day of your fire. Ask your neighbors if they have taken any photos. If the media shows up, ask for copies of any pictures or video they took, including anything they didn’t publish or broadcast. If you were charged for copies, save the receipts. Take photos outside your home. Start at the front door and move around your property. Get pictures of boarded up doors and windows, tarps on the roof, fire damaged walls, fences/security and more. Also include any damage to your lawn or landscaping. Although the coverage of plants and trees is often limited, the damage to them can speak to the scale of your fire. Before entering your fire-damaged home, make sure you check with local utility and fire officials and that they have declared the site safe to enter. Fire places are very toxic and dangerous. Appropriate protective clothing, boots, gloves, hat/cap, N95 mask, etc. close it Do not enter areas that have been declared dangerous: they are definitely dangerous. Never move or remove anything from your fire damaged site until your insurance carrier has told you in writing that they have completed investigating your loss. You still can and should do whatever you can. Internal damage document like Pro. Our community moderators recommend that you repeat the same process for taking photos from room to room to make sure you know what you’re looking at later. Start at the door and take pictures of the entire room. Get as close to the center of the room as possible. Using the door as your guide, photograph from right to left, first the ceiling, then the wall, then the floor. If the area is too large for the camera to see, break it up into sections and make sure the borders have plenty of overlap. Take individual photos of any light fixtures, ceiling fans, windows, custom treatments, and equipment used—water pumps, fans, air scrubbers, and more. Shoot the closet doors and the inside of the closet(s). Finish with a shot from where you started, pointing out the door. Once you’ve photographed the entire room, the images will provide a snapshot of your damaged personal property exactly as you found it. For areas that have been declared dangerous, take whatever photos you can from a safe distance. Include any signs, warning tape, etc. that indicate the area is excessively damaged. Make sure you can tell what is in your pictures. Use a light source if necessary. Wait to shoot the windows until the sun is shining in or on them. If you need to magnify the damage, include something like a ruler, pencil, or finger to show the scale. What about your values? Homeowners insurance policies require you to take reasonable precautions to prevent additional damage and protect your property after a loss. Nothing will protect your valuables better than moving them out of your fire-damaged home, but you should do this according to the provisions of your policy. Be open with your insurance carrier about what you need in your home. They are also interested in helping protect your property, especially any insured value that may be recovered. You must be able to work together to create a safe way to retrieve these items, even if it means waiting until the garbage is cleared. In the event that you cannot work with your mover to retrieve your valuables, make sure you work with a licensed professional who understands the impact that removing your fire-damaged items will have on your homeowners insurance claim. Document the entire search, ideally with video, without editing. If you have questions or need help, feel free to contact one of our community adjusters anytime. Debris Cleaning Details When disaster strikes, it’s human nature to pull together every resource we have and clean up the mess. However, debris removal is an important step in your homeowners insurance claim process. Once everything is deleted, so is the evidence of your loss. Take full advantage of the debris removal phase by obtaining detailed documentation of your personal property when it is removed from a fire-damaged home. The method preferred by our public adjusters is to first take photos of the damaged item in situ. Then, as you clear the debris, place each item on the table and: Take enough pictures to show all visible damage. Note any information that the photos do not convey. Sort the items according to whether they should be discarded or salvaged. Make an agreement with the insurer about the disposal of the item. Use these documents to prove a complete inventory of personal property. Keep your documentation throughout your claim after disposal and during construction. When the debris removal is complete, take a photo of what’s left. Again, use a method that helps you identify what is in the pictures. Take as many photos as possible during construction. If your contractor discovers additional damage, be sure to take pictures of it, notify your insurer, and have the contractor write up an additional repair estimate for the insurer to approve. Be sure to do the necessary extra work before you agree with your insurer on cost and coverage. Documentation Is Your Foundation Taking 100 photos and writing a description of your damage and loss can seem a bit overwhelming – especially when insurers invest billions of dollars to convince you that they are the ones far from tragedy. Don’t be fooled. It’s your property, your policy, and your responsibility to prove your damage. Lay a solid foundation for your entire claim by gathering ample documentation. A free fire damage claim kit can help you document your damage, prepare your claim documents and guide you through the various stages of a fire damage insurance claim. Follow the link below to download your copy today.
Documenting Property Damage: Essential Tips For Successful Claims In The Uae
Thank you for visiting us. My name is David Miller and I know what it’s like to fight with your insurance carrier just to get a fair payout for your property damage claim. My family experienced a full house fire that took almost two very stressful years to resolve. Since then, I have combined my experience in construction with my experience in contract language to create Miller Public Adjusters. We only work for policyholders. Please feel free to comment, ask questions, and tell us how we can help.
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“Dave is very knowledgeable about the process because not only has he been in the industry for years, but he has personal experience with his own home that has been damaged by fire. No matter how small you think your question is, Dave and his staff take the time to make sure your questions are answered and you understand the implications.His expertise in this matter quickly turned what seemed like an uphill battle into a manageable playing field.
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