What You Need To File a Claim After a Fire

4/20/2020 (Permalink)

Restoration experts in Lexington, OK

What You Need To File a Claim After a Fire

If your commercial building in Lexington, OK, catches fire, there will probably be considerable costs involved in mitigating the fire damage. When you file your insurance claim, you want to make sure that the policy you pay for will work well for you when you need it. To do that, you need to be able to give as accurate an account of the damage as possible. There are several practices you can put in place now to prepare.

Baseline Information

Your insurance adjuster may take pictures or videos of the damage upon arrival after the fire. To understand the full extent of the damage, however, your provider may find it helpful to see where you started. Document items that could be damaged in a fire:

• Picture or video tour of the building before the fire
  
• Receipts for equipment, including date of purchase and cost
  
• Itemized list of upgrades to the building since time of purchase
  
• Blueprint of the building's original structure
  
  

Keeping an accurate account of what your building looks like before fire damage gives your adjuster a baseline with which to compare the destruction. Make sure you document everything and store it in the cloud or in a remote location, just in case you need it.

Restoration Experts

You likely keep a record of emergency personnel handy so that you can find contact information easily when you need it. Add fire mitigation specialists to that list. These experts are trained to respond quickly when there is a problem. They can help you document the damage, assess what needs to be done and give you an estimate of what the restoration process will cost. They can even work with your insurance company by providing an itemized list of necessary repairs and keeping your provider updated with any changes along the way.
Mitigating fire damage can be costly. If you have all the information you need and know who to call when disaster strikes, you have a better chance of filing a successful insurance claim.