(Newswire.net — October 7, 2022) — Losing your possessions, treasures, memories, and sense of safety in a house fire is devastating without even considering the material financial losses. But unfortunately, the entire episodes leave most people feeling like they have no control over their lives and futures.
Often, just as homeowners think they’ve dealt with the worst of it, it becomes time to deal with the insurance companies, and things get even worse. Insurance companies may try to deny legitimate damage claims, try to reduce your claim, and generally feel like hindrances rather than helpers.
“That’s normal,” said Galen M. Hair, Founder of Insurance Claim HQ, “The insurance companies are businesses designed to profit from your premiums. So when they get your claim, they only consider how to impact their bottom lines the least. If they can get away with paying you less than you deserve, they will,” he said.
Hair is based in New Orleans and works only on property insurance cases; he’s known for taking on the big insurance companies in denial cases around the country. Not only has he been working in property insurance protection law for over a decade, but he’s also been named to the Inc 500 list and Goldman Sachs 10,000 list as well.
Over the years, he and his team have dealt with countless house fire claims and been successful in getting their clients the proper payouts. Here, he offers advice on filing with your insurance company after a house fire.
Contact Your Agent
The first thing to do — after making sure your family is healthy and has a safe place to stay, of course — is to contact your insurance company as soon as possible. Contacting them promptly will only help your case and make it more difficult for the insurer to claim that you were late or negligent in creating your claim.
It may sound unjust, but the longer you pause before reporting your house fire, the higher the chance that your insurance carrier will try to deny coverage.
Get Your Fire Report
As soon as you’ve notified the company that you’ve been a victim of a fire and will be submitting claim documents, contact your local fire department for a copy of your fire report. This mandatory and comprehensive report reveals the professional thinking on the cause of your fire and the damages incurred.
Every fire department needs to generate these reports promptly, and this document will be critical to getting all that you deserve.
Protect Your Home
Once local professionals — the fire department or police department, for example — give you the ‘all clear to return to your home, do so carefully. As you re-inhabit your house, carefully note any further damage and do what you can to stop any further damage from occurring.
These steps might include nailing plywood over broken windows, doing your best to shore up leaks, and removing any destroyed items. Taking these steps is also key to keeping your home from being breached by thieves when it is in a vulnerable state.
Gather Evidence
Upon your return, walk through the house gathering evidence. Take exhaustive photos and videos and note what happened and where. If paperwork such as receipts for your pricey items still exists, gather them to send to your insurance company.
Call a Fire Claim Attorney
By calling an attorney experienced in house fire claims, you will stand the best chance of getting on top of your claim early. If the episode has been intensely stressful for you and your family, making this call early and leaving the details in the hands of a professional might be the best thing you can do for yourself.
Removing this additional stress from your life will let you focus on rebuilding your home and life while an experienced attorney helps you get all the money you and your family deserve.
About Galen M. Hair
Galen M. Hair, Owner of Insurance Claim HQ, is a property insurance attorney who has helped over 1,200 families rebuild their homes and businesses. He has been rated a Super Lawyers Rising Star and voted one of the National Trial Lawyers Top 100. Click here to learn more about protecting your property from disaster: http://www.insuranceclaimhq.com