My House Caught on Fire: Aftermath, Insurance, Contractors

My house caught on fire March 17, 2007. Happy St. Patrick's Day, right? I was in Mexico when it happened. This is the story of a house catching on fire, how to deal with the ashes, the insurance company, and the contractors. And your sanity. As I'm posting this, many Californians are dealing with their own houses and fires; hopefully, this information will be helpful to the fire victims of San Diego and beyond.

Aftermath
Ok, so the damage wasn't that bad at my house in Reno, Nevada. There were 13 houses hit in the fire. Apparently it was started by some kid (firecrackers, cigarettes, or some other illegal flame-inducing object). I'm not sure who was more to blame though: the kid or the out-of-control brush. And I'm not sure who is to blame for the brush. Although I have some ideas...

The roof, the shed, the fence, the yard was destroyed. The house was still live-able.

I was in Mexico. I got an email from my housesitter. Yikes.

I thought I would be able to handle the matter from afar.

Think again.

First, I had to rack my brain about who my insurance agent was. I didn't know any agents when I bought the house so I went with the realtor's recommendation. Found out that the agent had quit months before my claim, and passed her files onto some poor unsuspecting fool.

Poor girl.

The house was insured through Safeco, who proved to be a hassle. No one likes to hand out money, but seriously--my house caught on fire! And it's insured!!

Hassle #1: My name wasn't showing up as an "insured." My ex-husband's name was, though. You know how they always list the guy's name first? Apparently they just listed one name and then said, "Good enough."

Hassle #2: My mortgage company wasn't listed as an "additional insured." The insurance company never got the memo that my mortgage was sold almost immediately after I closed.

Hassle #3: My last name had changed.

I wasn't able to fix any of this stuff from Mexico. I wasn't able to track down a contractor by email, either.

Made it back to The States at the end of April. Got to work on fixing names and mortgage companies.

Hassle #4: I was now in Minnesota, visiting my family. New address.

Somewhere in here I got the Insurance Commission involved. They were able to get my ex's name off the insurance in a day (I had been trying for weeks).

Lesson #1: Get the Insurance Commission involved sooner, rather than later. They are government workers, so don't expect miracles. Ask questions. Is this normal? What happens next? How do I go about this?

Safeco issued a new check sometime in June.

By now I had found a contractor; but he was a young guy who had never worked with an insurance claim before. [And, he probably never will work for one, again!]

Lesson #2: As horrible as this sounds, hire someone who is better at dealing with insurance companies than they are at dealing with construction.

Awful, I know.

My contractor did excellent work, but is still waiting on more money. I've paid him everything I got from the insurance company, plus the deductible and depreciation.

Depreciation
If you do not understand how this works, call your insurance agent TODAY, and get a thorough explanation of depreciation of recoverable and non-recoverable items. I'm not sure I fully understand it still. Ask your agent to give you hypothetical scenarios: If my house catches on fire, and half of my fence burns down, and all of my shed vanishes--how much money will I get? And how much will I have to pay?

Some items get depreciated. Wood fences, for example (through Safeco, anyway). So, they don't give you the replacement cost; they give you what the fence, being so old and worn, is worth today. Try giving THAT to your contractor when he's done with your pickety goodness.

Not a happy contractor.

Lesson #3: I didn't really learn this, but it was confirmed. Make sure you have enough money sitting around somewhere to cover your deductible and all the costs associated with a house catching on fire (increased cell phone bill, increased heat bill from windows missing from firemen antsy to get into the house, veterinarian bill from dog getting attacked by coyote since fence is missing). Don't expect the insurance company to pick up the tab on anything. But do keep receipts just in case!

Just because you have a check, doesn't mean you have any money.

Had to finally make a two hour drive to get to a Countrywide Bank to get my final check endorsed. UGH! Countrywide wanted me to send an endorsed check for 20+ grand in the mail. Then they were going to DEPOSIT it into an account, inspect the property, and upon approval, send a new check. Certifiable.

Lesson #4: This is the best way to get a manager on the phone. Call, ask representative to speak with a manager. When they respond with, "I need more information so that I can send you to the right manager," just respond with silence. They'll finally ask, "Mrs. So and So? Hello?" Reply back excitedly, "Oh, hi! Are you the manager?" You'll be connected immediately.

Limit contact between your contractor and insurance company.

Apparently, insurance field estimators are trained in being vague to the point of deceiving contractors and claimees. Do not allow any contact between the contractor and the insurance company without your presence, either by a conference phone call or at the job site.

Be there!

Just because your contractor says the job will take $50K to do, doesn't mean the insurance company will agree or comply.

Ask for it in writing.

Some members of the Insurance industry are very good about only communicating in written form. With email, you can get a lot discussed (and recorded) with the insurance company.

Field Estimators, however, don't spend much time on the computer. They jot down little notes on their little clipboards, and then make up numbers when the time comes.

Slight exaggeration.

I get sick to my stomach every time I think about Safeco, hear the word Safeco, or type the word Safeco.

I think I'm going to puke.

Long story short, my house looks great. Safeco cancelled my policy upon their final inspection. Of course I'm not living there anymore! As good as the fence, roof, shed and yard look--it's still a reminder of ... I can't say it. But, actually, I was living there when they cancelled it. That was funny. Parked in the driveway with my bus. Using the laundry room, bathroom and kitchen.

I switched ALL of my house policies to a friend at Farmer's. So they lost two properties, three units.

Not that they care.

I want you to feel empowered by this post. Go review your insurance policy with your agent. Make sure the improvements you made last summer are covered. Make sure the correct names and spellings are on the policy. Make sure the mortgage company is correct.

And then go to sleep soundly at night.

Wait--check the batteries in your smoke detectors first.

Ok, now go to sleep!