Your belongings after a fire: the contents claim
How to list, value and recover what the fire and smoke damaged
After a fire, almost everything you own has to be accounted for: what was damaged, what it would cost to replace, and whether it can be cleaned instead. It is the most tedious part of a fire claim, it lands on the family at the worst possible time, and it is where a lot of money gets left behind.
How the contents claim works
Your policy's personal property coverage pays for your belongings, up to a limit that is usually a set share of the dwelling coverage. You are asked to list what was damaged, room by room, with a description, age and replacement cost for each item. On a replacement cost policy, the insurance company usually pays the depreciated value first and the rest after you replace the item, within the time the policy allows.
Why people end up claiming too little
- Nobody remembers everything. People list the couch and the TV and forget the contents of every drawer, closet and cabinet. Those small items add up to a large share of the claim.
- Smoke-damaged things look fine. Clothes, bedding, books and electronics in rooms that did not burn are often damaged by smoke and soot, and they get left off the list.
- Depreciation gets taken and never recovered. If the held-back depreciation is not claimed after you replace things, it stays with the insurance company.
- Cleaning gets chosen over replacing when it should not be. Some things can be cleaned well. Many cannot, and the cleaning company's price is not proof that the item came back as it was.
How to build the list
- Do not throw anything away until it has been photographed and listed. Damaged items are evidence.
- Go room by room, then drawer by drawer and shelf by shelf. Photos and videos from before the fire, on your phone or social media, help a lot.
- Use receipts, bank and card statements and online order history for ages and prices.
- Price each item at what it costs to replace today with something of like kind and quality.
- Keep a copy of everything you send and a record of what the insurance company agrees to.
Pack-out and cleaning
A contents restoration company may offer to pack out the house, clean what can be saved and store it. That can be the right call, but get an inventory of everything they take before it leaves, and do not let a cleaning invoice stand in for proof that the item was restored.
Where we come in
We have a contents specialist whose whole job is this list. On a Detroit house fire, we were engaged before the insurance company inspected and arrived with a finished, itemized estimate, and the claim settled at $179,433 in three months. Here is how we handle fire and smoke damage claims.
See it on a real claim
Facing the contents list? |We do it for you.
Tell us about the fire and what was in the house. We'll tell you honestly what the contents claim should look like. No cost, no obligation.
