PCI Urges Yarnell Homeowners to Follow Four Steps to Recovery
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"While losing a home and personal belongings to a wildfire is daunting, working with your insurance company and following some simple steps can ease the recovery process," said
By following these four steps, homeowners can take positive actions that will speed up the claims process:
Step 1: Contact Your Insurer and File a Claim
Filing a claim gets an insurance adjuster from your company assigned to you. If a home is uninhabitable after a covered loss, the Additional Living Expenses (ALE) provisions of a typical policy will help the homeowner find temporary housing while the home is rebuilt. Homeowners should keep all receipts for hotels and restaurants for reimbursement. ALE does not cover all living expenses, but it does cover the increase over normal living expenses. Homeowners should continue paying their mortgage and property taxes on their home.
Step 2: Make a Home Inventory
"Homeowners with a total loss should begin making lists of their personal belongings in each room so your adjuster can understand what needs to be replaced," said Campbell. "Go room by room and write down furniture, accessories, electronic equipment, kitchen housewares, clothing, jewelry, linens and toiletries."
Step 3: Work Closely with the Claims Adjuster
Public adjusters are independent businesspeople that have no relationship with your insurer. These individuals may solicit homeowners after these fires. For a fee, a public adjuster will help a homeowner document the loss, schedule inspections and negotiate a settlement. It is important to understand that the fee to pay the public adjuster comes out of the settlement provided by the insurer.
Your company adjuster will walk you through the claims process, answer questions, estimate the damage to your property and fairly and promptly settle your claim. Regular communication with your adjuster will make the settlement process move efficiently and smoothly. The adjuster will work with the homeowner and their contractor to develop a scope of work. This is a detailed building plan used to reconstruct the home. The adjuster will use the previous floor plan, square footage and interior finishes like carpet, counter tops, cabinetry and plumbing. Homeowners with a replacement cost policy will cover the cost of rebuilding the house with materials of like kind and quality subject to limits and terms of the policy.
Step 4: Understand Your Coverage And Ask Plenty of Questions
It is important to understand the separate types of coverage under a policy. ALE will cover temporary living expenses during rebuilding process. Coverage A covers the cost of rebuilding the home. Coverage B covers detached structures like a garage and is generally a percentage of the Coverage A limit. Coverage C covers the contents and personal possessions in the home and is generally a percentage of the Coverage A limit.
As the rebuilding process gets under way homeowners will hear different terms like Coverage A and Coverage B. Homeowners need to understand the type of policy they have and which expenses are paid for under what coverages. There are two kinds of policies: A replacement cost policy will generally repair or replace covered personal property damaged by an insured peril. While an actual cash policy only provides reimbursement for the depreciated value of covered personal property. Homeowners should always be comfortable to ask questions and don't be afraid to talk to a supervisor within your insurance company. The
PCI is composed of more than 1,000 member companies, representing the broadest cross-section of insurers of any national trade association. PCI members write over
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