When a fire starts, get everyone out first. Nothing else matters until every person in the building is safe. In Florida, lightning storms start many home fires. Electrical faults, cigarettes thrown away carelessly, and appliances left running cause most of the rest. The claim work starts after the fire trucks leave, and the choices you make in the first days can shape the whole claim.

If a fire has already hit your home, call 800.511.2240 before you sign anything. We document the full loss, including the smoke damage a walk-through misses, and we tell you plainly where your claim stands.

Fire is not a rare event. The National Fire Protection Association reports that local fire departments responded to an estimated 1.35 million fires in 2021.

Read any form before you sign it

After a fire, disaster restoration firms often arrive fast. They may ask you to sign an authorization form on the spot. Read it before you sign. That form can allow the firm to remove or repair items that later turn out to be a total loss. Work done on items that turn out to be a total loss still gets charged against your policy limits. That money comes out of the same limits you need to replace those items. A short pause before you sign protects the money your policy holds for your recovery. If a firm pressures you to sign right away, slow the moment down and get a second set of eyes on the form first.

Smoke travels farther than the flames

Soot and smoke keep moving through a home long after the flames are out. They settle inside air ducts, behind walls, and in rooms the fire never reached. Wiping soot off a wall does not clear what sits inside the duct system. That residue can affect the air your family breathes and can keep damaging finishes, electronics, and fabrics for months. Proving smoke and fire damage can be difficult, because the worst of it often hides where a quick walk-through never looks. Independent testing can document soot and smoke in rooms the flames never reached. What you cannot see can still be claimed, if it is documented.

Fire damages more than what burned

Heat and smoke can weaken framing, wiring, and plumbing behind walls that look fine. A room can pass a quick look and still hide damage that fails later. Your contents need the same care. Clothing, furniture, and electronics can hold soot deep in fabric and vents, and cleaning them the wrong way can set the damage in for good. A complete inventory, room by room, protects the value of what you lost. Short lists built from memory leave real losses off the claim.

Your policy may pay for a place to stay

If your home is not livable after a fire, your policy may include additional living expense coverage. Hotel stays and extra food costs can count. Keep every receipt from the first night. Save the fire department report, and photograph every damaged room before anything gets thrown away. Items you discard too early are hard to claim later.

What to do in the first days after a fire

• Photograph every damaged room before cleanup starts.
• Keep damaged items until your claim record is complete.
• Save every receipt, starting the first night.
• Get a copy of the fire department report.
• Read any restoration authorization in full before you sign it.
• Get the full loss documented before repairs begin.

A public adjuster works for you

The carrier’s adjuster represents the insurance company. A public adjuster from Policyholder Advocacy Group represents you. We walk the whole property, not only the rooms that burned. We document the structure, the contents, and the smoke damage the eye can miss. We prepare the claim and meet with the carrier’s team, so you do not carry the paperwork while you put your home back together. We present the loss under the terms and conditions of your policy, so you pursue the full amount your policy owes you. Policyholder Advocacy Group has represented Florida policyholders since 2012. On cost: For residential claims, Florida caps the fee at 10% during the first year after a state of emergency declaration. And 10% of nothing is nothing. Without representation, many homeowners walk away with far less or nothing at all. If a fire closed your business as well as your home, our business interruption page explains how lost income claims work.

Not sure your damage is covered? Start with a Free 21-Point Storm Inspection. We document the full loss and tell you plainly whether you have a claim. Call 800.511.2240.