There are few events more personally destructive than a home fire. Expensive belongings, personal mementos, and objects of immense emotional meaning are lost or destroyed. The pain can be multiplied greatly if the fire resulted in the injury or death of a loved one. A fire can very literally destroy your life, and rebuilding afterwards can be a difficult journey at the best of times. Here is some important advice for how to begin the process.
Dealing with Insurance
Once the fire is out and you and your loved ones have been attended to it’s time to file a claim on your fire insurance. Make sure to keep records for all of your living expenses while you await their appraisal – your hotel bill can likely be claimed completely as can much of your food. Get an advance as well to make sure you can get basic necessities like toiletries and clothes but don’t overspend – you’ll have to pick up the difference. Also it’s important to make sure your home is protected from any further damage by boarding it up, covering any holes with a tarp, and checking on it daily.
If the insurance company denies your claim it can feel like salt on a wound. They may feel you provided misleading information when you applied or made significant changes to the property without informing them or perhaps even caused it yourself which resulted in the denial. In cases like this it’s best to hire a lawyer experienced in these matters.
Dealing with Other Liable Parties
It may also be possible that you believe the fire was not an unpredictable occurrence but was in fact foreseeable and the fault of another party. Perhaps you’re a tenant who feels the landlord was making changes that resulted in a greater fire risk, or you’re a landlord who believes that the tenant was acting recklessly and against the rules of the lease. In either case the possibility of obtaining financial restitution exists.
After something as traumatic as a home fire the tortuous working of insurance claims and liability can be incredibly daunting. It’s best to hire legal representation who can assist you. If you have been denied your full and deserved fire loss benefits by your insurance company or have otherwise been wronged call Conte & Associates at 1-877-614-0008. Based in Vaughan and Whitby, Conte & Associates works with clients in Whitby/Oshawa, and in the following cities in Ontario: Oshawa, Ajax, Pickering, Clarington, Newcastle, Courtice, Bowmanville, Newcastle, Port Perry, Belleville, and Peterborough.
