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What to Do When Filing a Fire Insurance Claim
 Report your claim immediately: The loss or damage should be reported immediately to your insurance company and/or insurance agent. Upon the insurer's receipt of the claim you should be provided with written confirmation – if not, ask for it. This protects you in case the insurer later tries to state the insured failed to provide timely notice or that the claim was untimely made.
- Locate your insurance policy: If you have lost your policy or don't have one, ask for a copy immediately. Your insurer is required by law to provide you with a copy upon request. Without a copy of your policy you won't know your or your insurance company's rights, duties and responsibilities under the insurance policy. Equally important, your policy sets forth the actions you must take to obtain assistance or recovery.
- Document everything: Make sure to keep all copies of documents given to you by your agent, your insurer, and even your mortgage lender following a loss. Also keep copies of any correspondence from you to any person involved in the loss. Take notes during phone conversations or personal meetings with your insurance adjustor, agent, or anyone else asking you questions about the loss – this includes investigators. Try to confirm the conversations in a letter to your insurer. Extremely important is record keeping of each and every time you try to call someone but can't reach them, or you had to leave a message with someone, or leave a voice mail. Get a secure folder and keep all your documents in one place. Keep receipts from money spent on motel rooms, clothing cleaning supplies, or any money spent repairing the damage. You will probably be able to recover this money at a later date, if you have proof of the expenses.
- Take photographs of the damage: Take as many photographs as you can! If you have experienced damage to your property, photographs of the damage are essential. The more photographs, the better. Words are good but pictures are even better. Take more photos during repair, demolition, rebuilding or cleanup.
- Early Settlement Offers: Sometimes an insurance company will make a quick settlement offer on a claim. Usually this points to an incomplete evaluation or damage analysis by your insurer, which leads to a low settlement offer. If this happens you will need to request written documentation explaining how they arrived at the extent of damages. Also request a written explanation of the coverage's available to you for your loss under the policy. Don't be fooled by a friendly insurance adjuster – remember, no matter how much they seem to want to help you, they are an employee of the insurance company and usually have the best interests of the company, not yours, at heart. While the quick settlement offer may seem to be a lot of money at first, slow down and take a good look at things – usually a quick offer is insufficient to cover the losses that you have suffered.
- Settlement checks: NEVER accept a check indicating that the payments are a full and final settlement or if the settlement check indicates a possible release of the insurance company unless you are represented by a professional who regularly litigates against insurance companies. Before signing and depositing any settlement check, read carefully BOTH sides of the check. If you're not sure of what you're reading, seek legal assistance before endorsing the check. If an insurance adjuster tells you to ignore the language on the check, be suspicious! Ignoring it could be a fatal mistake regarding any remaining portions of your claim. There may be additional damages in your claim that weren't found or were ignored by investigators. By signing a check with language that you don't understand, you could be releasing your insurance company from paying some or all of your damages. And remember – you don't have to accept the insurer's offer if the estimate is low. You always have the right to consult with an attorney. If anyone else tells you different, consider that a warning sign, and retain an experienced insurance attorney. An insurer’s statement that you don’t need an attorney can be an unfair trade practice by the insurer.
- Are you overwhelmed? You may need help: After a major loss to your home or business you are physically and mentally stressed. But you still need to provide documents and evidence, even a sworn statement, to the insurance company when requested. You don't have a choice – you are required by the policy to cooperate with the insurer. Don't try to go it alone. Consult with an experienced insurance attorney. He or she will be able to help you if your insurance company tries to delay the adjustment or payment of your claim. An experienced attorney can also help if your insurer takes the position that the damages are not as severe as you think or that there is little or no coverage for the loss that you have incurred. You will need help.
- Hire an Insurance Attorney: An experienced insurance attorney can make the difference between success and frustration when dealing with insurance claims. Plotting a course through the language of an insurance claim is something that takes familiarity with the claims. Mr. Wells has over 25 years of experience in the insurance industry and has previously represented insurance companies, so he is well accustomed with their positions, tactics and arguments. Many of Mr. Wells' clients are referred by other attorneys due to his experience in taking on insurance companies in coverage disputes. He also knows not only what bad faith actions by an insurer are but also knows how to properly preserve a bad faith claim. Since we provide services on a contingency basis, the client pays no fees or costs unless we make a recovery on their behalf. This makes it easier for people who have been denied coverage or who have been underpaid by their insurance companies.
- Public Adjusters: We often recommend public adjusters to assist with making your claim. Mr. Wells works closely with a number of Public Adjusters who involve us in the claim when the insurer acts in ways to delay the claim's resolution. Many times Mr. Wells retains Public Adjusters to act as consultants or experts in some cases. Public Adjusters also help us estimate our client's losses or assist our clients in appraisal under the policy.
- Tell the truth: Always be truthful with your insurer. When seeking coverage, or when reporting an incident, an insured always needs to remember that even an innocent mistake on an application for insurance or a materially false statement in any insurance claim can be used as a basis to deny your claim. In addition there are criminal and civil penalties for attempting to defraud an insurer or filing false claims.
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