Filing Your Fire Damage Claim: What Damages Should You Include?

10/27/2021 (Permalink)

Commercial fire damage in Perimeter Center, GA.

Filing a fire damage claim can be an overwhelming and confusing process. Dealing with insurance adjusters is never straight forward, and often, damage that one assumes would be covered by one type of policy is often covered by another type of policy. For instance, water damage from bursting pipes and sewage overflows may be covered by a standard homeowner's policy, but water damage from a flood would require a separate flood policy. The same is true of loss due to fire. For this reason, talk with your Perimeter Center, GA, insurance adjuster regarding what each policy does and does not cover so that you can ensure that you're covered no matter what.

What Fire Insurance Covers

Most fire insurance policies typically cover fire mitigation efforts of all buildings affected, regardless of where the fire originated. Additionally, most policies cover smoke and water damage due to a fire for up to one year after the fire took place. Most companies will not cover fire damage due to arson or any other malicious acts, such as burglary, theft or rioting. However, it does cover loss due to the following:

• Electrical shorting
  
• Faulty wiring
  
• Gas explosion
  
• Lighting
  
• Natural disaster
  
  

Some policies may even cover fires started because of burst or overflowing pipes or water tanks.

Though policies are designed to cover property damage and loss, many identify the same exclusions. Some such exclusions include:

• Specific items such as works of art, manuscripts, drawings, plans, securities, stamps, coins, accounting books, computer system records and the like
• Cold storage inventory
• Any boiler or machine in which steam is generated inside and if damage to it was caused by its own implosion
• Perishable goods
• Intellectual property

When drafting your policy, discuss with the insurance adjuster other possible exclusions. Some companies may allow you to negotiate for inclusions for an additional fee.

A Perimeter Center, GA, fire mitigation team can help you assess the fire damage, provide an official report and ensure that you recover the most compensation for your damaged items. If your building was recently affected by a fire, contact your local remediation team right away.