If your business catches on fire, it can be hard to know what to do. Many people find themselves so devastated and confused that they do not know what steps to take to start the rebuilding process. Use the following guide to learn a few tips to follow if your business ever catches on fire.
Get a Copy of the Fire Investigation Report
When a fire occurs, a fire investigator, such as from Fire Science Investigations, comes to the property to investigate and determine what caused the fire to start. There are times when the fire may be started accidentally through an electrical malfunction within the wiring of the building. However, there are times when the fire may be intentionally started. The investigator needs to determine what started the fire so that he or she can know how to classify it. If the fire started accidentally, then it will be classified as an accidental or electrical fire. If the fire was started by someone intentionally, it will be classified as an arson and a police investigation will take place to try to determine who started it.
Contact Your Insurance Company
The next thing you need to do is contact the insurance company that you have your business insurance with. You need to let them know what happened and have them send an insurance adjuster to your business to assess the damage. They will estimate how much they think that it will cost to rebuild your business so that you can start rebuilding as soon as possible.
Gather Evidence to Prove the Value of Items that Were Lost
You need to take the time to collect proof that shows the insurance company the value of the items that were inside of the business during the fire. If you own a retail store, you need to consider the value of the merchandise that you had on the shelves, as well as in storage within the building. Consider the value of the cash registers, the computer systems, and even the shelves that the merchandise was kept on. You will have to replace everything in order to reopen your business so being able to provide proof of the value of the items will better your chances of the insurance company covering a majority of the items that you lost in the fire, as well as the damage that was caused.
If the fire occurred because of arson, you may have to go to court to testify against the person that started the fire. It is important to be present on the day of the trial so that the person can be held accountable for the damages that they caused to your business.
Share24 July 2017
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