Fire Insurance Policy: A Comprehensive Guidebook

Fire insurance policy, Suppose you own a restaurant and you take some budgeting paperwork home one day after the eatery closes. While you are at work at night,

a short circuit happens accidentally and you lose all your paperwork in the fire. You do not know what payments the stakeholders were due and how you would manage your home as well as the restaurant’s finances.

This is high time you realize you should have opted for a fire insurance policy. You would be even surprised to know the number of total house fires reported through the years 2015 to 2019 in the US: they are 346,800!!

In this article, we will give you all the information that you need for fire insurance for your house. Let’s start then!

What Is a Fire Insurance Policy?

Fire insurance covers the property damage that you might experience in a house fire. The payment of the fire damages is covered by the insurance company. It includes repairing and rebuilding costs also. If the need arises, replacing the damaged property is added to the fire insurance coverage. 

Sometimes you might have to move out of your house after the fire. The insurance company manages all the arrangements so that repairs and recovery are easily handled. The fire insurance policy covers the costs of living for moving out of the damaged property. 

If you live in a rental house, the landlord covers the damages of the house exterior. However, your personal belongings that get ruined in the fire would still be counted as your loss only. 

There are two major requirements for getting a fire insurance claim: 

• The fire must be accidental
• An actual fire or any relevant ignition takes place 

If you see only smoke within the building and no clear signs of ignition are there, the insurance company might not cover the harm. They are not termed as ‘fire’ if the above two conditions do not meet. 

A personal note: A home insurance policy includes all the hazards in your home and the insurance firm easily covers for such contingencies. For example, fire, earthquake, tornadoes, floods, smoke, theft, vandalism, thunder, extreme winds, etc. On the other hand, fire insurance only includes damages resulting from fire and ignition only. Fire insurance for the house would not give insurance coverage for a mere smoke. 

Why Do You Need Fire Insurance Coverage?

In order to gauge the importance of fire insurance, consider the following that it covers almost every kind of damage that you have experienced in a home fire. For example, the costs of living, including food and relocation assistance while your home repair is underway, the costs of lodging. 

The damages to personal possessions, and other forms of property are all counted under the fire insurance policy.

You should keep in mind that while you are living on rent, your landlord would not be accountable for your personal things, such as the restaurant’s paperwork. Personal possessions need an enlistment within the fire insurance for your house. 

Further, you can measure the importance of fire insurance by knowing that you have financial security if an accidental fire occurs. The business assets, such as in the examples that we mentioned in the beginning, would be covere fully with property and assets coverage of fire insurance. 

The coverage of stocks lost in a fire is included in a fire insurance policy, if a person dies in a fire,some of the compensation is given to the family, and even if repairs are mandatory after a fire, the insurance company would not stay behind in helping you with all their sincerity.  

Fire Insurance Claims Examples 

One of the classic fire insurance claims examples is that of a historic house in Dallas. A fire broke out in 2002 and fire engine trucks and teams were sent to the house to save the property. The homeowner had fire insurance of $421,000 while he needed coverage for his property valued at $365,000. There was a huge debate between the homeowner and the insurance company about the actual cash value of the damaged property.

The homeowner had to hire a public adjuster to look into this problematic fire insurance claim example. The public adjuster worked on the costs that significantly raised the value of the damaged property. The insurance company was under a good faith guarantee for providing the decided indemnity, debris removal, rebuilding of the destroyed landscape, and managing other pertinent expenses. 

Fire Insurance Clauses and Warranties

You should make mental note of certain guidelines regarding clauses and warranties of fire insurance coverage before opting for one. They are as follows: 

• It is a guarantee that the insurance company would fulfill all the terms and conditions mentioned in the fire insurance coverage plan with extreme good faith. 
• It is a guarantee that the insured person would get the indemnity that he deserves. The finalized terms and conditions in the insurance contract are the reimbursements for the fire damages that insurance coverage ought to provide after the incident losses. 
• A standard fire insurance policy does not cover property that is vacant for more than 30 days. 
• The damage to the roof and walls would be covered first rather than other lower parts of the building.
• Fire insurance would not cover damages caused due to explosions and hail. 
• Separate insurance is required for fixtures and fitting destroyed in a fire.
• In the process of construction, if the fire breaks out, The insurance policy does not cover repairs. 
• The damages occurring due to earthquakes, wars, invasions, riots, and terrorism are not includ in the fire insurance policy. Any of these incidents that might lead to fire as a repercussion is not the responsibility of the fire insurance firm. 

Conclusion

A fire incident is an unexpected contingency that no one wants. However, you can have a protective shield against it. Any time, you can hire an insurance company to deal with all the legal requirements for a fire insurance policy. The fire insurance coverage would tackle the extensive destruction and the expenses needed afterward to rebuild the property. Moreover, you must know the difference between insurance claims and guarantees if you are living on a rental property. Get instant fire insurance if you want to save your valuable assets that are highly vulnerable to fire.