Called two days after the fire, and it never needed appraisal.
The loss
A grease fire in a Bloomfield Hills kitchen in August 2025 caused fire damage at the source and smoke damage well past it. On a kitchen fire the smoke is usually the larger half of the claim, and it is the half that is easiest to under-scope.
The homeowners called us two days after the fire, before the claim had taken any shape at all.
The first pass
- A first offer of $126,766.
The full claim
- The fire damage at the source.
- Smoke through the rest of the house.
- Contents, priced by vendors.
- A final replacement cost of $268,354.
What we did
We documented the property with DocuSketch and brought in contents vendors to price what the smoke had reached, which on a kitchen fire is most of the house.
Because the scope was established early, before either side had committed to a position in writing, the difference was closed by negotiation. No appraisal, no panel, no second year.
The outcome
The claim settled without appraisal, about seven months after the fire. This is the argument for the early call, stated as plainly as we can state it: being there at the start is the difference between correcting a number and fighting one.
Identifying details are limited to protect client privacy. Figures are the insurance company's documented position and the final settlement on that claim. Every claim is different, and past results don't predict the outcome of any future claim.
Related
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