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1. Put yourself in each room of your home. Say to yourself that a fire has occurred, and ask yourself, "How do we get out?" Many people consider jumping out a window. While debating the extent of injury to be sustained, smoke inhalation overtakes people.
Solution: A chain ladder under a bed may go a long way toward preventing harm from coming to you or your family. If you have a ladder, there is no debate, you just leave. And, a chain ladder doesn't wear out, can help in succeeding homes, may save your life !
2. After a fire, an insurance adjustor needs to know what personal property has been lost. Remembering everything you own is a daunting and impossible task.
Solution: Videotape your home. It creates a record for the adjustor and a "roadmap" for you through your home. Or, at least, take pictures of each room from two different angles, with drawers, closet doors, & kitchen cabinets OPEN . Note: Do not keep the tape or pictures in your home. Don't forget the garage ! Taking picures can be done in about 20 minutes ! This can make a difference in your settlement of tens of thousands of dollars !
3. After a fire, the insurance company will furnish funds to replace your possessions. But some things cannot be replaced or duplicated, such as pictures.
Solution: Gather all negatives and keep them outside the residence, and continue to do that with new pictures. Reprints can be reproduced.
4. After a fire, people discover that the fire "proof" safe or box was just fire resistant. They also discover that keeping it in an upstairs closet, where the fire was most intense, was not conducive to survival.
Solution: Keep the box or safe in the far corner of the basement. Fire burns upwards and the structure will collapse into the middle. The best chance of survival is on the bottom floor, at an extreme corner, where the coolest temperatures will be. Note: We knew the box was in the closet, so do burglars !
These are just some suggestions, that we, as insurance professionals, have had to deal with the consequences of policy holders who were not prepared for home fires. Fires do occur in the very best of homes. PLEASE BEWARE!
We are here to serve you. .......insurance-va.com
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