After the Fire: Get Every Dime from Your Insurance
Standing outside your place while watching the firehoses try to put out the neighbor’s apartment from the back, before it goes any further…
Watching another truck come around to the front. Waiting for them to put on there gear, trying to find another hose that works…
Hearing the Fire Marshall instruct everyone to move back just a little more…
Holding nothing more than a digital camera, and a few quickly packed bags, watching, waiting, smelling and hearing the flames…
You have almost convinced your other neighbors huddled outside, some with little less than a cell phone or car keys in their hand, that maybe the fire will be put out before it spreads. You have almost convinced yourself…
Flash forward a few days later. You have learned to be quite comfortable in the temporary apartment, your belongings all within a few feet of you, blanket piled up to resemble a bed, two gift cards from charity organizations tucked neatly in your wallet. You think to yourself, as you contemplate walking up the hill to use the shower in the other apartment as there is no hot water in the temporary, “Well, mine was not burnt to a crisp. At least I may be able to retrieve some items later. At least I have renter’s insurance.”
This is a true story. The fire was in the first week of February and it’s the middle of June now, but not a day goes by that I start to get something out of a closet, and have to stop myself. “lost or damaged in the fire. Put it on the list.” I remind myself. Of course that painting my Auntie made for our wedding present cannot be re-bought, nor my husbands baby book. But I can buy another set of hand weights and find more nifty cooking gadgets. I have renter’s insurance. I can buy another bed to put the blankets on. In times after an unplanned disaster, money does help restore piece of mind.
The moral of this story is: Get Renter’s Insurance if you live in an apartment. Get Homeowner’s Insurance if you own a home. Get the highest possible amount. It is a small price to pay if you ever go through a fire and need to replace everything. Here is what you need to know:
Call your agency as soon as it happens. Someone will pull the file for easy access. It may be on the news. This will help with the records.
Call your agency when it is safe to return. The Fire Marshall or rent office will tell you. By now you should have a specific agent/agents who handle the case. They can schedule a time to send someone out to survey the damage.
Be available. There will be a lot of phone calls back and forth, Each untaken phone call can be another day without the insurance check. Your boss will understand why you need to carry your cell phone on your hip. Buy an extra charger for the car as well.
Someone needs to meet the agent for the walk -through. He (or She) will take lots of pictures. When he tries to tell you that the new flat screen in your living room-the one with wet ceiling plaster covering it- might still work, suggest he take it to his home and plug it up.
The retrieval of any items might only be a few hours or a few minutes. If there is anything worth salvaging be sure to do it then. If possible bring help. An extra pair of hands or truck can come in handy.
Document everything. Hold on to fast food receipts (from having to eat out because you no longer have access to your kitchen). Some companies will reimburse you; just ask. Get a notebook and start writing down everything you remember owning. It will be really useful when it is time to start on the itemized list. Even that cell phone picture of you in the living room, with the antique vase in the background will have a deeper meaning when calculating how much things cost.
Have contact numbers for agent available. At this time in your life he or she might be more important than your mother. Well, not really as she is the first one on the scene to make sure you are ok, but the agent is just as important.
Check with agent often to make sure all paperwork is correct. Don’t harass your agent but sometimes you need to check in. If there is a question or a fax didn’t make it, they may have not remembered to call you. You are not the only client, by the way.
Detailed itemized list. The form you have to use may be only one page. This is perfect for the contents of you car, but not your house. Make your own list and attach it to the one provided. Make a separate page for each room if necessary. Everything including the food in fridge should be listed. At first glance that may sound silly, but it’s not so silly if you just spent two hundred dollars grocery shopping that weekend. (Example: food in fridge $200, food in pantry $ 250.)
Put the price each item is worth, not the sale price. The accounting department will them adjust for depreciation, and you will have to re-purchase. Some of the items you need to replace before the check arrives will not be on sale.
Make sure your information is correct. The correct spelling of names, address, etc. on all paperwork is important. If it is not, it could delay your paperwork even longer.
Deposit your check in the bank ASAP. With most insurance checks, banks take ten days to clear it because of fraud. It is a standard precaution, regardless of whether or not the bank president saw your apartment up in flames on the evening news. The sooner it is deposited, the sooner you can withdraw.
A fire at your home, be it apartment, or house, can be devastating. Some of the most unlikely people may even be there to help you through it. But unfortunately, it is up to you the “victim” to get yourself back on track. Barring no serious injury or deaths, you can pull the pieces of your life together.
