Advice for Homeowners After a Wildfire: Keep a Diary
After damage from a wildfire — or from a flood or any other major disaster — it’s important to take
detailed notes to help the insurance claim process go as smoothly, and as swiftly, as possible.
After a home is damaged by a wildfire, Ms. Bach said, the owner should keep a journal — any notebook will do —
and update it daily, noting the date and time of calls with insurers, adjusters and contractors, and a short summary of what was said.
The documents that the insurance institute recommends you take include insurance policies, passports
and birth certificates, tax and loan documents, wills and trusts, plans and blueprints of your home, and stock certificates and bonds.
“They paid for coverage,” he said, “and they have a right to receive everything they’ve paid for.”
Here are some questions and answers about insurance coverage after wildfires:
How can I decide what to take during an evacuation?
“On a regular basis — at least annually — people should document their possessions and the state of their property,” Mr. Heller said.
“Document, document, document,” said Doug Heller, an insurance consultant with the Consumer Federation of America.
But the sheer scope of the California disaster — coming soon after major hurricanes in Texas and Florida — will probably mean
that insurers and adjusters, who visit properties to assess how much the insurer will pay, will be stretched thin.
The last thing on the minds of most people whose homes were devastated by wildfires like those in Northern California may be keeping a journal.
