Fires can be the most difficult and trying times a business owner or manager may ever experience. When a fire happens your world is turned upside down.

Fires at commercial properties can shut down business for months, perhaps indefinitely. Machinery can be destroyed, technology ruined, business files and computers damaged beyond repair. Sprinkler systems and water damage from the fire department is a secondary concern that can fry electrical systems. In other words, repairs to this sort of damage are costly, and in some cases impossible to recover all materials.  The loss to a business is intense, and getting back up-and-running is crucial to business recovery.

In an apartment fire insurance claim, the management company has to deal with loss of rents, relocating families and in many cases administrating repairs.

In a residential fire, relocating your family and documenting a lifetime worth of personal property is an overwhelming process. To maintain their everyday life, one must juggle work, home and now the insurance companies demands.

The average fire claim takes 6-9 months to resolve per the Texas Department of Insurance. The process of settling the claim (often for much less than the policy affords) can be devastating.  Recovery involves managing mitigation and construction companies, and handling property loss.

A certified and licensed public adjuster retained immediately can meet all adjusters, engineers and representatives on your behalf. They will document your personal property with state of the art software and create the maximized estimate your insurance company does not want to see; that’s just the beginning. We will properly navigate your policy to form the best strategy for expediting and maximizing your claim payout.

According to the IICRC (Institute for Inspection, Cleaning and Restoration Certification) the water used to put out the fire can be just as damaging if not more costly than the fire itself. The secondary effects of fire, known as smoke, soot and water damage are oftentimes overlooked.

When water is used to put out the fire, mold can ensue. Smoke & Soot are acid or alkaline based and will cause severe long term effects to all material it comes in contact with, especially porous materials and furniture. If not addressed immediately, these items will likely require replacement. This is where most people find themselves trapped with the insurance company’s mitigation contractors who want to clean and repair everything. This process is not beneficial to you and can deplete your potential recovery needed to replace the fire damaged property.

Only a public adjuster licensed by the Department Of Insurance can legally negotiate an insurance claim on your behalf. When inspecting initially, we photograph and document the entire loss from structure to personal property and build an expert claim file to present to your carrier.

Because AAPA, LLC is a licensed and certified fire damage firm with the IICRC and Texas Dept. of Insurance, when we create our damage model, “we are not asking; we are telling”. This approach aides in a quick and effective resolve so that you can be back in your home sooner without the hassle of ever having to fight the insurance company on your own.