Hidden Damages from Partial Residential Fire Losses
If a house fire has not destroyed your home, then you can still file a partial loss claim under your homeowner’s insurance if you have damages. These claims are often tricky to settle for many different reasons. If you find yourself in this position, then you need to hire a public claims adjustor in Central Florida to negotiate with the insurance company for you.
Hidden Damages
Many kinds of hidden damages may be hard to spot after a fire partially destroys your home. Even if the roof of your home suffered no apparent structural damage, it still needs to be inspected as the wood under the roofing could have suffered water damage. If you have structural steel, then the heat from the fire may have destabilized it causing it to damage your home’s foundation or retaining walls. Furthermore, the temperature of the fire may have damaged your siding, stucco, or concrete, so samples should be taken as not all damage may be apparent to the naked eye. Even if the fire did not break out the windows, the extreme heat might have warped them, and this can set up moisture issues later. A professional needs to check your home’s plumbing, gas, and electrical systems. It may be necessary to open interior walls so it can be determined if damage occurred to the framing.
Inadequate or Improper Cleaning
Insurance companies often do not want to pay to have your home thoroughly cleaned. Especially if someone lives in the house that has asthma or other allergy problems, then wiping everything down is not good enough. You need to insist that professional clean your HVAC system. Even if your homeowner’s insurance policy has a clause excluding mold damage, you should be eligible because the mold was a result of the fire.
Delays
You may find that the insurance company does not want to honor your additional living expense clauses after a partial loss fire. If you need to move to different living quarters during the renovation of your home, then your policy should cover your claim under your Coverage D benefits. If you think it may be a while before you can return to your home, then you may want to negotiate for an upfront payment allowing you to purchase a trailer or RV to live in on your property during the process.
Matching and Sight of Line
Another common problem experienced by homeowners who have experienced a partial loss claim is often matching and sight of line payments. The insurance company is responsible for returning your home to the condition it was in before the fire. Therefore, it must pay to have siding match with the rest of the house. It must also pay for roofing and other materials to match what is left if one can see the area from where the damage occurred.
Contact us today to be your public claims adjustor in Central Florida!
