Five Homeowners Insurance Steps to Take After a Wildfire

Wildfires have become increasingly common and destructive in the U.S. recently. As such, it may be a good time to review your homeowners insurance policy to be sure you have enough protection in case this type of disaster comes to your area. It's also helpful to understand how to file a home insurance claim after a wildfire and the specific steps you need to take.

Fortunately, an independent insurance agent can help you find the homeowners insurance and wildfire coverage you need. They'll help ensure your home is protected from numerous disasters, including possible wildfires. But first, here's a guide to the five homeowners insurance steps to take after a wildfire. 

Does My Homeowners Insurance Cover Wildfire Damage?

The answer to this depends on your specific policy. In many cases, homeowners insurance policies provide coverage for wildfire damage to the home and your personal belongings. However, you'll need to review your policy's exclusions to be certain. 

If you live in a wildfire-prone area, such as Southern California, wildfire coverage may be excluded from your homeowners insurance, or this coverage may have a separate deductible in your policy. If your home insurance doesn't include wildfire protection, ask an independent insurance agent about purchasing separate wildfire coverage to protect your home. 

How Homeowners Insurance Can Cover Wildfire Damage

Homeowners insurance policies that include wildfire coverage can reimburse you for damage and destruction related to these disasters from multiple angles. Home insurance covers wildfire damage in the following ways:

• Dwelling coverage: In a homeowners policy that includes wildfire coverage, dwelling insurance protects the structure of the home against damage or destruction by wildfires. Dwelling coverage also applies to built-in appliances, flooring, and attached garages and decks.
• Additional structures coverage: Depending on your policy, you're likely to also have coverage for detached structures like sheds that are damaged or destroyed by wildfires.
• Personal property or contents coverage: Your personal property, like clothing, furniture, silverware, etc., may also be covered by your home insurance against wildfire damage and destruction. Contents coverage is usually 50% to 75% of your home's total insured value. Some policies will pay for the original replacement cost of items, while others only reimburse for the current value.
• Loss of use coverage: Homeowners insurance can provide coverage for temporary housing if you're forced to live elsewhere while awaiting repairs after a wildfire. Hotel stays, additional gas mileage, meal takeout, and more are often covered. Coverage in this section is often limited to 20% of your dwelling coverage.

Your homeowners policy might also reimburse you for debris cleanup after a wildfire, as well as water damage that occurred from putting the fire out. An independent insurance agent can review your homeowners insurance policy with you to make sure you’re satisfied with the level of wildfire damage coverage it provides.

5 Homeowners Insurance Steps to Take After a Wildfire

If your home gets damaged or destroyed by a wildfire, you'll want to contact your independent insurance agent right away. They can help you file a home insurance claim and get the reimbursement you need. 

This process can be much simpler if you keep a detailed inventory of your personal property and its estimated value before a disaster occurs. Additionally, here are a few steps to take after a wildfire damages your home, should the time ever come.

1. Protect all Inhabitants

Call 911 immediately to report any injuries and seek medical attention. Don't return to your home if you were ordered to evacuate until authorities declare it's safe to do so. If your home was damaged by a wildfire, be sure to get it professionally inspected before reentering. Avoid any fallen power lines and wear a mask to avoid inhaling dust. Do not use your kitchen until it's been thoroughly cleaned. 

Next, reach out to your friends and family and let them know you’re safe. Phones and internet service may be down or overloaded after a major event, so save phone calls for emergencies. Text messages or posting to social media may be better options.

2. Protect Your Property from Further Damage

Shut off your home's gas or propane immediately. Don't turn your home's power back on until the power company declares it's safe to do so after an inspection. Cover damaged windows and roofs with tarps or plastic sheeting to keep rain and dust out.

3. Document Structural and Personal Property Damage

As soon as it’s safe and practical to return to your home, take photos of your home's structure, additional structures, your belongings, and anything else damaged by the wildfire or water that was used to put it out. This will help ensure that you’re able to recover the full insurance proceeds available to you, and it will support tax write-offs for any uninsured losses.

4. Contact Your Independent Insurance Agent

Your independent insurance agent can file a home insurance claim for you if you provide them with all the information they need, such as any documentation of damage you prepared. They'll ask you a few questions to gather the necessary details about the wildfire to pass along to your insurance company. Your independent insurance agent will also keep you updated through every step of the claims process, including when you can expect reimbursement if your claim is approved.

5. Complete Your Homeowners Insurance Claim

Your home insurance company will likely need to schedule a visit from an adjuster to evaluate your property's damage in person. During the claims process, keep copies of bids and estimates, repairs made, notes about discussions with contractors and the insurance company, and photos of damage and repairs in progress.

The claims process after a wildfire can be made much simpler when you have the help of an independent insurance agent. They can contact your home insurance company and file claims directly for you. Of course, your family's safety is your top priority after a wildfire, so make sure all living home inhabitants are safe and accounted for before tending to insurance matters. 

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When You Should Add More Wildfire Coverage

In many cases, homeowners insurance can provide ample coverage for wildfire damage, but there are certain instances in which you might want to consider adding a stand-alone fire policy or increasing your existing coverage limits. These include:

• If you have expensive property: If you have a lot of expensive items like jewelry, collectibles, fancy electronics, furs, etc., you may want to consider adding riders or endorsements to increase your personal property fire coverage limits.
• If you have an older home: If your home is older and more susceptible to fire damage, you might want to look into ordinance or law coverage to protect against building code changes over the years.
• If your home is customized: If your home has undergone a lot of custom upgrades, you might want to look into adding extended replacement cost coverage to your policy to cover the cost of custom materials and extra labor for repairs.
• If you have a large family: If you have a large family, the built-in loss of use coverage included in your home insurance might not be sufficient for your needs. You may want to work with your independent insurance agent to increase these limits.

An independent insurance agent can discuss your needs with you and help you determine if increasing your policy's limits or adding an extra fire insurance policy is the right choice.

Why Work with an Independent Insurance Agent?

Independent insurance agents are experts in finding you the right kind of wildfire insurance and any other type of coverage you need. They can shop and compare policies from many different insurance companies for you, then present you with only the best quotes together in one place. Also, they're available down the road to help you file home insurance claims if you ever need to after a wildfire or another disaster.