A fire is one of the worst things that any homeowner can experience. The fire is not only a traumatic, life-threatening experience but also a grueling, time-consuming process when dealing with the cleanup in the aftermath of it. If you’ve recently experienced a fire in the home, you may be feeling stressed over the current condition of your home. Unfortunately, flames can spread rapidly, causing damage to appliances, furniture, and the property’s structure while leaving smoke and soot behind.
When dealing with these circumstances, it’s often beneficial to hire a professional Florida fire damage attorney to walk you through every step you’ll need to take to repair and restore your home. At Klotzman Property Damage Law in Florida, we’re here to help you overcome this frustrating situation with minimal stress. You can depend on our legal professionals to guide you in the right direction and help you handle the claims process.
Give our expert property damage lawyers a call today at 954-915-7405.
What Do I Do if my Property Has Sustained Fire Damage?
If your property sustained fire damage, your first step is to take photos for evidence. While this is incredibly important, people tend to overlook it, not realizing how much these photos can help when filing a claim with the insurance company. You must take pictures of all the damage, starting from one room and working your way to the next. Snap several shots of the floors, appliances, walls, ceilings, and anything else impacted by the fire to prove that everything included in your claim is accurate. It becomes that much harder for insurance companies to deny your claim when they can see the damage in clear, high-resolution images.
Taking pictures is a start, but it’s not the only step you’ll need to take on this frustrating, often challenging journey. In addition, you’ll need to speak with the insurance company to let them know about the fire, and the damage your property sustained because of it. It’s also in your best interest to contact a property damage lawyer to work with you on the claim.
At Klotzman Property Damage Law, we understand the claims process is often time-consuming and occasionally challenging to understand. If you want to make sure you’re completing the claim correctly to get the best results, reach out to us for assistance. We look forward to helping you with the claims process because we know how important it is to receive compensation from the insurance company to help cover the cost of repairs and restoration services.
How Does a Fire Claim Work?
When you make a fire claim with the insurance company, they’ll expect you to provide evidence of the damage resulting from the fire. So, if you took pictures, this is your opportunity to use them to your advantage to prove that you’re dealing with extensive damage, including smoke odor and soot, that would need to be removed to make your property safe enough for you to live in again. Don’t forget to include details on your belongings that may be in poor condition or entirely ruined because of the fire, such as jewelry, money, clothes, and more. The goal is to provide an in-depth list of the damage with photos to serve as evidence to increase the amount of compensation received so that it’s enough to cover the expenses.
It’s not uncommon for the insurance company to send an adjuster to the home. The adjuster will inspect the property to assess the damage and provide details to the insurance company. Once the company has this information, they’ll decide how much to provide to you and when to pay it out. If you don’t agree with the amount, you don’t have to settle and can instead choose to take legal action. As experienced property damage professionals, we can help you with this process when necessary.
Does Smoke Damage Count as Fire Damage?
In many instances, smoke damage does count as fire damage, but it depends. Fire damage relates to everything physically damaged because of the fire, which often occurs when flames burn things, such as furniture. However, in some cases, the smoke causes irreparable damage to belongings in the home, making them unusable. When this happens, the insurance company may be willing to accept smoke-related damage as something they’ll cover because it’s a direct result of the fire that happened in your home.
Is my Damage Covered by my Insurance Company?
Most homeowners insurance provides coverage for accidental fires that can occur. However, circumstances can vary from one person to the next, including the level of coverage you’ll receive when attempting to seek compensation from the insurance company for your property damage. For example, you may have coverage up to a certain extent for any personal items inside the home that may have been destroyed by the fire. There’s a possibility that you’ll need to pay a deductible to receive the full coverage required to cover fire-related expenses. Again, this often depends on your homeowners’ insurance because some people have extensive coverage to receive more compensation when disasters like this occur at unexpected moments.
Why Was my Fire Claim Denied?
Receiving a denial from the insurance company for a fire claim is one of the most disheartening things to experience. No one wants to hear that they’re not going to receive compensation for services needed to restore the home and replace belongings destroyed by fire and smoke. Unfortunately, some people do receive denials, and these are some of the reasons why they might happen:
Lack of Coverage
Some people receive denials because of the type of coverage they have. If your coverage doesn’t include smoke or water damage caused by sprinklers, the company may deny your claim for anything damaged by the water and smoke and not the flames themselves. Of course, this is naturally frustrating to hear, and it’s not something anyone would want to experience after going through such a traumatic event.
Arson
Sadly, insurance companies often try to accuse homeowners of participating in insurance fraud by igniting their own homes on fire. As ridiculous as it might sound, there have been people who’ve done this before, so insurance companies are often assuming the worst. If your insurance company is trying to accuse you of arson or fraud, contact us for assistance at 954-915-7405. We’re here to help you fight the accusations while attempting to get compensation for the property damage.
No Proof of the Damage
An insurance company can deny your claim if there’s not much proof of a fire or the damage it caused. We encourage our clients to take photos as quickly as possible to capture multiple shots of the damage for the insurance company to review. Have you been told you don’t have enough evidence of damage caused by the fire? Consult with us. We want to learn more about your situation to see what we can do to help you with your claim.
Faulty Electrical Equipment
Insurance companies may attempt to blame you for the fire by saying that there was faulty electrical equipment inside the home. While it’s possible for you to have faulty electrical equipment, you may not have known, which means it’s not your fault that a fire happened.
These are some common reasons to have a fire claim denied by the insurance company. We understand how difficult it is to receive a denial, but that’s why we’re to guide you in the right direction, working closely with you to do what we can to assist with the claims process.
How Can a Florida Fire Damage Attorney Help Me With My Claim?
Hiring a fire damage attorney can help you with your claim in many ways. When you work with us at the Klotzman Property Damage Law in Florida, you can expect us to:
- Consult with you to assess the situation and provide expert legal support and guidance
- Work with you to gather as much evidence as possible to help support your claim and prevent denials
- Contact the insurance company for you so that it’s one less thing you need to do or stress about
- Investigate the situation to identify instances of mishandling by the insurance company
- Take a proactive approach to represent you and your claim while seeking the compensation you deserve
Call Klotzman Property Damage Law Today!
We care about our clients and want to help them overcome such a dire, life-changing situation. After going through the traumatic experience of having a fire in the home and surviving the ordeal, the last thing you want to deal with is a lengthy battle with your insurance company. However, this can happen, and that’s why we’re here to offer the expert legal support needed to protect your bottom line in Florida.
Don’t settle for less when it comes to predatory insurance companies that often look for the most ridiculous reasons to avoid paying their clients. Instead of stressing the situation, contact us today at 954-915-7405 for more information about how Klotzman Property Damage Law can help you. We look forward to learning more about your situation and helping you overcome this ordeal as we fight for justice in the form of compensation needed to cover the cost of repairs, restoration, and replacing any damaged belongings.
