So sorry you are having to deal with this.

From what I understand, there are different ways of doing things depending what state/country you are in. Identifying your general area may help people better advise you.

We went through this several years ago but we are in Canada so not sure if my advice would be of use. Our adjuster was wonderful and walked us thru the process. She set up appts with different contractors and then they submitted bids. Insurance company chose which contractor but we were mostly pleased. It was the lowest bid but he went way over the bid in terms of both time and money. Insurance company seemed okay with that.

Even when things go smoothly, it’s a tough slog. I wish you well and hope others here can give you more help.

We had a house fire years ago. I did not hire a public adjuster. The insurance adjuster thru our insurance company was very good, but told me I did not need one.

I think if I had to do it over I would have gotten one. I had to fight for a lot of things, such as the value of my 3 boys Legos, the price per square foot of my carpet ( they said it was only worth X) I said no way, they had it tested and turns out it was worth triple what they thought! And many other things.

We were very naive back then. Did not realize our policy was not for full replacement value.

also, if I would have realized it I could have picked up those Legos and soaked them in a bleach wash! (Boys had lots of Legos).

i hope it goes well for you and your family. It’s surprising how many things you don’t remember to claim until much later, when it is too late.

After fire destroyed my newly renovated home, i didn't hire an adjuster because it was obvious the policy would be maxxed out. Read your policy carefully and completely. Understand all sections and limits.

You must have, and pull together documentation. I submitted itemized, detailed spreadsheets with supporting data and pictures as able. Imagine buying a car at the parts counter, with a full list of parts required. That must be your mindset.

You must be firm and tenacious to get the claims paid. Push back on denials if you disagree and as appropriate. As long as you do your job (its an enormous amount of work), they will pay up to the policy limits.

Lastly, time (ozone), windex and fabric softener are your friends. I could have salvaged so much more!

Good luck.

After our fire, I took pictures of everything and put them in our safe deposit box. When we moved, did the same!

You could see what insurance offers and then hire public adjustor. We did that and only paid public adjustor's percentage fee on increase settlement over what was originally offered. If you can do that, might save you some money. Best wishes.

I'm so sorry to hear this. Hopeful that more people with experience with house fires can lend their thoughts as well. Best of luck in rebuilding!

Best of luck in your ordeal. I hope you have moral support to get you through it.

Thank you for your responses!
I am in Phoenix, AZ. I am still trying to understand how the code violations cost have anything to do with the house fire, and rebuilding the house. Still on the fence regarding a public adjuster to help with getting repairs/rebuild done.
If not for family, and friends I would not have been able to survive this ordeal.

Lisa, I hope things are going well for you now.

Thank you Kathyg.
All is the same still waiting on contractor and the outcome of meeting with city regarding code violations. I will be working on lost list for quite some time. I have hope that this process will go smooth, but it seems like it is taking forever. Staying positive.

Had a house fire, needed to be torn down to studs. Wish I hired an adjuster. Everything was a fight, despite adequate insurance coverage. Feel like the process aged me 20 years.

We had a house fire several years ago. State Farm is our insurance company with a full replacement value policy. We did not require a public adjuster. I was able to manage the claim but it did take a lot of work. I worked on the initial claim for 2 months to include photos, appliance owner's manuals and receipts. I did dispute some of the insurance company's value of items but in the end, they agreed with my calculations on every item. Our rebuild took 14 months and all of my free time was spent on the claim. I would suggest that you work with a contractor that specializes in fire restoration. We worked with a major restoration company that was familiar with he insurance company's policies and helped us with the process. Good luck with your rebuild. It is an emotional time but you will get thru it.

@khuth, good to hear you had a better experience. Also had a full value replacement policy, that included coverage for code upgrades.

Update on rebuilding of my home...879 days after the fire we have foundation, framing and trusses. Thank you for all your responses. I learned everything the hard....IF ANYONE KNOWS OF A PERSON WHO HAS HAD A HOUSE FIRE, AND THEY HAD INSURANCE, AND NEED ADVICE I HAVE IT...CONTACT ME THRU HOUZZ. Happy to share what I learned, and how to avoid the mistakes I made.