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Make sure to take ID, debit card, cash, credit cards, smart phone, tablet, laptop, etc. Wear comfortable clothes, like sweats. Try to have a change of clothes.
by Mz 9y ago
Make sure to take ID, debit card, cash, credit cards, smart phone, tablet, laptop, etc. Wear comfortable clothes, like sweats. Try to have a change of clothes. View this as stuff you may live in for a while.
Grab your homeowner's policy and any small personal items, like wedding rings.
It is cool if you can grab personal hygiene items, but those are relatively easily replaced. Try to take prescription medications. People sometimes wind up seriously ill a week or more after an evacuation event because they don't have their usual drugs and can't readily get more. In some cases, people die a few months later and relatives speculate that it is partly because they couldn't get a steady supply of their usual meds in the weeks afterwards.
Edit: After the fire, when you go back, take photos and call an insurance adjuster immediately. Do this before you try to fix anything or do any clean up. Cleaning up amounts to destroying evidence.
You can hire a public adjuster to file for you. Your broker, lawyer or a public adjuster are essentially the only people that can talk to the insurance company on your behalf.
(Edit: changed private adjuster to the correct term public adjuster)
- marak830 9y agoAs I mentioned lower, try to wear as little synthetic as possible, if worse comes to worse, it melts into flesh. Cotton at least burns. (Yes I know, lesser of two evils here). Good call on the meds op.
- deleted 9y ago[deleted]
- dyladan 9y agoI don't think he's planning on being in the house.
- Dangeranger 9y agoSometimes people have to escape through the flames. Synthetic clothing can have a low burn point and can damage skin if only melted. If it were me I would pack synthetics in a bag for use after reaching safety, and wear long sleeve shirt, pants, and boots while escaping in a vehicle or worst case on foot.
- sizzle 9y agoWould jumping into the shower and saturating your clothes before running through flames retard the burning of synthetic, if fully saturated? I ask cause I sleep in 100% polyester and nylon exclusively as cotton makes me sweat under a blanket.
- gjmarsh 9y agoBe careful of private (aka public) adjusters. They take a cut of your settlement. They can help you get more from insurance sometimes.... but if your house burns down with everything in it, you are likely maxing out. They can't get you more than you are insured for... but they will still take a cut. There will for sure be people be swooping in like vultures after something like this to try to profit... Not all are bad, but I would just say, be careful.
- deleted 9y ago[deleted]
- arkades 9y agoIn some states they amount to little more than scam artists. I'd hesitate before hiring one. Better, hesitate before speaking to one.
- Mz 9y agoFunny, that is about how I feel about the entire insurance industry. (Source: I worked for an insurance company for over five years.)
- AstralStorm 9y agoTheoretically, insurance is supposed to work like mortgage or other deaspool, where people pool money to cover a low chance but big risks by paying a small amount. However it got broken the moment it got capitalist. There is a whole idea of maximizing gain and doing essentially what is investment banking in some countries.
- winston_smith 9y ago> it got broken the moment it got capitalist Like, in 1681 when the "Insurance Office for Houses" was founded, or did you mean the maritime loans from the 4th century BC? Insurance and mutual aid societies have coexisted for literally millenia now, and if you think the latter are better, you're still free to join one (assuming your government doesn't force you into the former). But it's pretty nonsensical to blame capitalism if you don't like the way your insurance company currently operates.
- deleted 9y ago[deleted]
- sdrothrock 9y ago> Wear comfortable clothes, like sweats. Try to have a change of clothes. View this as stuff you may live in for a while. I would recommend extra changes of underwear and socks, as those are the two bits that will get bad quickly (especially in a hot environment) and can make life pretty miserable with the resulting rashes/fungus. Before you leave, if you have time, take pictures of your rooms, especially the expensive items (and their serial numbers) as this will make life much easier for insurance claims later on.
- throw7 9y agoyep. you'll want clothes that typically hikers get for long multi-day hikes. synthetics and/or stuff like merino wool for your underwear and socks is much more performant than cotton, which can get nasty in one day of exertion.
- rbritton 9y agoIf there's time, I'd also take photos of any higher value items you're leaving behind. It removes the risk of being unable to prove you owned something.
- Buttons840 9y agoJust take a HD video of your whole house. Can take some still pictures too.
- astura 9y agoTake a photo of every item, not just the high value items. Those small items really add up to thousands. (unless you are a student/poor)
- lightedman 9y ago"Those small items really add up to thousands. (unless you are a student/poor)" Given the price of most college and university books, a student could likely get very rich by simply buying used and having those burn if they looked new enough and could be documented as being in the home when the fire occurred.
- astura 9y agoI'm not talking about insurance fraud? My only point was if you're a college student you probably aren't going to have the same amount and quality of items that someone more established has. If you're a college student/low income/young you are likely to have, say, 1-2 bath towels bought from the Dollar Store; if you are more established then you're likely to have a nicer towel set that costs closer to $50. Those small items ($5-$50 each) are going to add up to probably be just as much, if not more, as any one expensive item. Every small thing matters.
- ChristianGeek 9y agoPassport, too, and any documents that would be difficult or impossible to replace. Hopefully you already have these all in one place so they’re easy to grab.
- Angostura 9y ago> Edit: After the fire, when you go back, take photos and call an insurance adjuster immediately. Do this before you try to fix anything or do any clean up Don't forget to take lots of pictures before the fire too.
- GFischer 9y agoThat's a good tip, maybe for everyone - have an offsite backup (Gmail works, iCloud, whatever), with photos of your valuables, your place, etc.
- systemtest 9y agoI have most of the stuff mentioned in this comment permanently in a Pelican case. Grab and go.
- martin-adams 9y agoI'd add Birth certificate and phone/laptop charger.
- whiskeySix 9y agoGreat advice. I'd add that it would be wise to record serial numbers and pictures of items that you cannot take with you. There are many sites out there that will host specifically this, but here's a project i worked on. https://reportit.leadsonline.com/ https://reportit.leadsonline.com/