What To Expect When Using Home Insurance For A Fire
Are you worried about what would happen if your home caught on fire? If so, it helps to have an overview of what will happen to manage your expectations. While everyone's home insurance policy is different, here are some examples of coverage that you may have in your policy.
Temporary Housing Coverage
Your home is not going to be safe to live in for a while after a fire. Even small fires can cause a lot of soot and smoke to be in all parts of your home. That is why your insurance provider will set you up with temporary housing coverage. In most situations, you'll be put in a hotel while the repairs are being made. For bigger fires, your insurance provider will find you a rental home so that you can live more of a normal life during the repair process.
Immediate-Need Personal Property Coverage
It is also likely that you'll need some items immediately after a house fire. This could include clothing, toiletries, and things of that nature just so that you can get by while your personal property is being cleaned. Expect to be given an allowance to help pay for these items so that the cost does not come out of your pocket.
Additional Food Expense Coverage
The insurance agent will likely ask you how much you spend per week on food for your family. This information is used to determine what your baseline is for food-related expenses. Since you may be eating out more while your home is being repaired and you are in a hotel, you may receive reimbursement for food expenses beyond what you typically spend.
Home Repair Coverage
Your insurance provider is going to get estimates on how much it will cost to repair your home due to the fire. One thing to keep in mind is that the goal is to restore your home to the exact condition it was in before the fire. This means that repairs can get quite expensive to put in the exact type of construction materials that you had. For example, plaster walls are not going to be replaced with drywall, even though plaster is more expensive. That repair estimate will be used to determine how to repair your home. If the repairs are too costly, it may be cheaper to tear down your home and rebuild it.
Reach out to an insurance agent for more information about your home fire insurance plan.