Michigan Insurance Claims – Public Adjusters and Loss Consultants

Even a small fire can create big odor issues that are very difficult and expensive to get rid of.   Slowly burning furniture or carpets release a thick, black smoke, containing hundreds of toxic compounds that will cover all exposed surfaces in your house, and enter through crevices in between walls and attic and basement spaces.  Your walls, floors, furniture, window treatments will be covered with a black, smelly, acidic mass, which, if not promptly or properly removed,  will damage them further, affect your health and leave a lingering odor.

Fire restoration is a complex, delicate process, and there are several steps for transforming a house damaged by fire into a smoke and soot free environment.  Once the fire was put out, the first thing you need to do is ensure proper ventilation inside the house. ( Don’t use wet sponges or wash any surfaces, as that may make the damage worse). Of course, you should contact your insurance company and report the fire, as restoration costs may be higher than you think.

By contacting a fire adjuster company like Michigan Fire Claims, first you get your damage assessed by trained, independent appraisers that will accurately estimate cleaning and fire restoration costs.  Having your own experts estimate the fire damage and the fire restoration costs will assure your appraisal is accurate, so you don’t have to rely on estimates from appraisers that are hired by, work for and serve interests of the insurance company.

We’ll be on your side!

Nik Kalaj,
Michigan Fire Claims Inc., Independent Adjusters & Appraisers

So you had a small kitchen fire, that you were able to put out without much structural damage.  While your house smells like the Inferno, you console yourself with the fact that things were not worse.  Cleaning should be easy you think.  You’ll replace the kitchen cabinet above the stove, air the house out, refresh the paint, and life we’ll be back to normal.  As your deductible is high, and the last thing you need is a rate increase on your homeowner policy, you decide to not even call your insurance company.

After a week of toil and trouble, things look up.  For the next months, anyone waking through the door, acts like your Schnauzer when the meatloaf is in the oven – sniffing the air, questions marks in their eyes.  At work, people inquire if you’ve been taking up smoking, or you’re just  grillin’ every day.

At Christmas, when your in-laws visit, they ask if they have to eat whatever you’ve been cooking (or burning..).  At this point, you possibly had enough.

So together with your Schnauzer, you put your olfactory detective skills to use, to uncover just where those pesky smells are hiding.

Carpets, rugs, sofas, curtains, clothes, they are all culprits. Even after washing, airing, deodorizing.  You may need to get new ones!  And repaint. Geez, who knows how much this will cost.

What to do??  And how about the insurance company, how can you document the damage now?

Eureka!!   You can call Michigan Fire Claims! They’ll have answers for you! And appraisers, and adjusters. And they’ve help hundreds before (here’s proof!).  Plus, they are really nice.

Yeah, I know you wish you’d thought of them before!

Nik Kalaj
President & Owner
Michigan Fire Claims, Public Adjusting Company

With the coldest days still ahead of us, fire risk is also on the rise. Our private insurance adjusters at Michigan Fire Claims work on a daily basis with homeowners that had devastating fires. During this time of year, most fires involve portable or space heaters, with electrical fires a close second. Improperly maintained or operated equipment is usually the main cause.

There are few basic precautions to consider, so you and your family stay safe and warm:

- have your heating appliances inspected by a certified professional
- operate gas or kerosene space heaters with the greatest care, as they account for the highest fatality risk protect floors under wood burning stoves, and leave enough clearance, as stray embers or overheating could easily start a fire
- for electric appliances, check all cords, and make sure you don’t overload the circuits when plugging them in.
have your vents and chimneys inspected and cleaned every season
- keep all combustibles away from any heaters
- don’t leave any open fires unattended (candles, cigarettes, fireplaces, stoves, etc)
- make sure your smoke detector and carbon monoxide detector (a must if you are using any space heaters besides electrical) are working properly
- talk to you kids about fire safety. As most fires occurs at night – having a clear fire escape plan that your kids understand and have practiced dramatically increases their chance of surviving one.

We hope you stay warm and safe, as the the cold weather is here for a little while longer.

For too many Michigan families, the holiday season brings not just the usual joys and happy family times, but also an increased risk of fires.

While no one likes to think of fires other than the one in the fireplace, believe us, it happens; we see it every day. Loosing all you’ve got in a fire is not an easy thing for anyone, but eventually life goes on and thing get better. You buy new things, re-build your house, etc. However, while material things will be replaced, a life cannot!

So, please, as you start baking, decorating, lighting the candles, etc., don’t forget to take the necessary precautions to help protect your family and property. Here’s a video from the US Fire Administration and NIST showing it takes less than a minute for the Christmas tree to catch on fire and engulf the living room. Don’t let it happen to you!

If you have small children in your family, take the time to talk to them again about fire safety and the fire evacuation plan. If the unthinkable happens, having rehearsed these, will dramatically decrease their chance of fire related injuries.

From everyone here at Michigan Fire Claims Inc., we wish everyone a safe and joyous holiday season!

Tags: Fire, Fire Claims, Fire Help, fire insurance claims, holiday, Michigan Fire Claims, smoke, smoke claims

My daughter is very excited about going down to Detroit and watching her favorite team the Detroit Lions play the Philadelphia Eagles.  She tells me this morning that the Detroit Lions will need help with out Mathew Stafford and a lot of  help against Vick.  I am just excited to watch the Lions play.  With or without help against the Eagles, my daughter and I will have fun.

Tags: Claim Help, Detroit

Most of us remember where we were on 9-11-2001.  I was in Detroit providing help to a family after there home was burned the week before due to a candle being left too near combustibles when a fire started in the basement and nearly destroyed there home.  The neighbor next door ran out and caught our attention as she started to scream about the twin towers having planes fly into them.  It has been nine years since the towers were destroyed by fire and our world has changed alot.  Can you rememmber where you were? I was in Detroit at a fire scene providing help to a fire victim.

Tags: Claim Help, Detroit, Fire

Fire estimates are a valuble tool in determing broad evidence on homes that are total loss.  Insurance companies generally pay actual cash value on homes and buisnesses when insureds do not want to rebuid and that generally means market value.  The State of Michigan allows the use of fire estimates on a broad evidence rule to determine actual cash value.  A soundly written fire estimate will insure a greater settlement on broad evidence and will also give an insured more money to work with if they have a loss in which there is an interest to repair.

Tags: actual cash value, Fire Estimates, rebuild

Answering the question of why mortgagees appear on any structure payments issued to policyholders on insurance claims in Michigan.  Most homeowner and buisness structure policies protect the mortgagee in what is known as the mortgage clause.  The mortgagee also includes trustee or loss payee.  If the mortgagee is named in the policy, then any the mortgagees interest would be protected and their name would appear on any instruments of payment by the insurance company.  There is also language written in most policies that will pay mortgagee’s an interest even when a claim is denied.  I would advise any policyholder to read the mortgage clause section of their policy verify those specific conditions and terms.

Tags: Insurance Claims in Michigan

The damage created by the tornado in Dundee this past week was unimaginable .  We spent several days consulting with city officials and tornado victims on how to file proper claims.  Several homeowners requested claim help.  Our company is doing as much as we can for all the victims involved.  I will update more on this subject on future postings.

Tags: Claim Help, dundee, victims

I have been asked many times what is and why are in insurance companies requesting and exam under oath. An examination under oath is an insurance companies way of attempting to gather information from an insured to not pay their claim.  It is as simple as that.  An insurance company has a right under the policy and will frequently ask for an exam under oath when they want to be difficult.  An insured has the right to be represented during the process and should further explore those options.

Tags: claim, euo, Examination Under Oath, insurance