How Insurance Companies Underpay Fire Claims

Insurance companies have refined the art of minimizing fire damage payouts. They use these tactics every single time:

The Depreciation Trap: They pay actual cash value, not replacement cost. Your 15-year-old kitchen cabinets are worth almost nothing after depreciation. But replacing them costs $30,000.

The Missing Damage Game: Their adjuster does a quick walkthrough and misses half the damage. Smoke in the attic? Not documented. Soot in the HVAC system? Overlooked. Odor penetration in the walls? Ignored.

The Contents Lowball: They use computer software that assigns generic values to your belongings. Your custom furniture becomes "standard dining table." Your electronics get depreciated to nothing.

The Code Upgrade Exclusion: Building codes change. Fire damage often triggers requirements to upgrade electrical, plumbing, or structural systems. Insurance companies claim these upgrades aren't covered.

The Delay Strategy: They slow-walk your claim. Weeks turn into months. You need money now. They know this. They're betting you'll accept less to speed things up.

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What Most People Don't Know About Smoke Damage

Smoke is more destructive than fire in many cases. Smoke travels through your entire house. It penetrates walls, gets into ductwork, and embeds in insulation.

Smoke leaves acidic residue. This residue corrodes metal, damages electronics, and ruins fabrics. The smell never comes out without professional remediation.

Insurance adjusters often focus only on visible burn damage. They ignore smoke damage in rooms far from the fire. This is how they reduce your claim by tens of thousands of dollars.

We bring smoke damage specialists who use thermal imaging and air quality testing. We document contamination the insurance company pretends doesn't exist.

The Mistake That Costs You Your Claim

Talking to your insurance company before hiring a public adjuster is the biggest mistake fire victims make. Here's why:

They'll ask when the fire started. How it started. What you were doing. Whether you had working smoke alarms. If you'd noticed any problems before.

Every answer matters. Say the wrong thing and you've just given them ammunition for a denial. "The insured stated they'd been having electrical problems." That's now evidence of lack of maintenance.

They'll also ask you to make a list of damaged contents. Most people forget half their belongings. Once you submit that list, the insurance company treats it as complete. Items you forgot don't get paid.

Call us before you call them. We'll tell you exactly what to say and what not to say. We'll prepare your contents inventory professionally so nothing gets missed.

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Why Insurance Company Fire Investigators Are Not Your Friend

If your fire was large or the cause is unclear, the insurance company will send an investigator. This person is not helping you. They're looking for reasons to deny your claim.

They're trained to find evidence of arson. They'll interview you multiple times looking for inconsistencies. They'll take photographs and measurements you never see.

Everything you say gets documented. If you say something different the second time, they claim you're lying. If you can't remember details, they claim you're hiding something.

You have the right to have your own representation present during these interviews. We've dealt with insurance investigators hundreds of times. We know their tactics and how to counter them.

The Additional Living Expense Battle

Your policy likely covers temporary housing while your home is being repaired. This is called Additional Living Expenses or ALE. Insurance companies fight these claims aggressively.

They'll claim you don't need a hotel, you can stay with relatives. They'll say restaurant meals are too expensive, you should buy groceries. They'll cut off payments before repairs are done.

ALE coverage is there for a reason. You're entitled to maintain your standard of living. If you lived in a 2,000 square foot house, you need comparable temporary housing. If you ate out regularly before, you can eat out now.

We document your actual living expenses and fight to keep ALE payments flowing until you can move back home.

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Why Fire Claims Get Denied

Insurance companies deny fire claims using several common arguments:

Arson Allegations: They claim you set the fire or had it set for insurance money. They point to financial problems, business losses, or pending foreclosure as motive.

Lack of Maintenance: They argue the fire resulted from deferred maintenance, not a sudden accident. Old wiring, unmaintained chimneys, or neglected equipment become reasons for denial.

Policy Violations: They claim you violated policy conditions. Maybe you didn't report the fire promptly. Maybe you made temporary repairs without authorization.

Misrepresentation: They allege you lied on your insurance application about prior losses, property condition, or occupancy. They use this to rescind the entire policy.

Excluded Causes: They reclassify the fire cause to fall under policy exclusions. A grease fire becomes "intentional acts" because you left the stove unattended.

Many of these denials are improper and can be overturned. We fight wrongful denials with expert reports, witness statements, and legal policy interpretation.