Fire Damage

Fire, smoke, and soot damage

State Farm opened a kitchen-grease-fire smoke claim at $8,500 - walked them to a $47,200 settlement using an IICRC soot/HVAC assessment, the FL matching law, and a 2.5 percent public adjuster. here is the full rebuttal package.

posting this because almost every fire/smoke thread i read on here ends with "the carrier said it was just smoke, $5k-$10k, take it or leave it." that was my exact opening position and i did not take...

Posted by relieved_renter_530•1mo ago

6 comments

closed our $112k Liberty Mutual kitchen fire claim last week after 6 months - sharing what worked and the contents inventory mistake that almost cost us $18k

writing this while its still fresh. kitchen grease fire on december 12, 2025. wife was searing pork chops, stepped away to grab the kids from the bus stop (which is 90 seconds away), came back to...

Posted by TinaDenial34•1mo ago

6 comments

Allstate paid $42,800 on a kitchen fire damage claim at my single-family home in Ohio after a grease fire caused direct fire damage to cabinetry and substantial smoke and soot damage throughout the structure including HVAC ductwork, attic insulation, and contents valued at $186,400 in replacement cost, by limiting smoke damage to a 12-foot radius around the kitchen and excluding HVAC, attic, and contents damage as pre-existing or unrelated. Forced $143,600 supplemental settlement using the smoke and soot damage scope framework, the IICRC S700 fire and smoke restoration standard, and the Ohio bad faith claim handling statute. The five-element approach to smoke damage scope disputes on partial structural fires

Posting this because smoke and soot damage scope disputes on partial structural fires are one of the most common policyholder underpayment patterns in homeowners insurance, particularly on kitchen...

Posted by stressedClaimant865•1mo ago

6 comments

House fire in October destroyed the kitchen and 60 percent of the contents. State Farm initial offer was $94,000 on a $312,000 personal property limit. After 7 months of fighting we settled at $241,800 by submitting a room-by-room inventory with replacement cost documentation. Here is the spreadsheet method

Posting the full story because contents claims after a fire are where carriers consistently lowball and most homeowners do not understand how much money is being left on the table. Background: October...

Posted by anxiousresident302•2mo ago

7 comments

Kitchen fire claim with State Farm wrapped up at $84k after starting at a $19k offer. Here's the timeline and what actually moved the number

Posting this because i spent weeks reading fire damage threads here while we were in the middle of this and the timeline information was really hard to find. Hoping this helps the next person. Quick...

Posted by worried_renter_802•2mo ago

7 comments

Our house fire experience - insurance was the least of our problems

Kitchen fire spread to the attic and we lost about 40% of our house 6 months ago. Everyone asks about the insurance part but honestly the emotional part is what nobody prepares you for. Living in a...

Posted by tiredPatient242•4mo ago

5 comments

Two years after our house fire - lessons learned

Our house had a major fire in 2023. Finally fully rebuilt and moved back in. The insurance process was the hardest thing Ive ever dealt with. If I could go back, Id hire a public adjuster immediately....

Posted by frustratedpolicyholder265•6mo ago

6 comments

My fire damage claim journey - 3 months later

Wanted to share my experience with a fire damage claim since I learned a lot from this community when I started.Filed in October, adjuster came out within a week. Initial offer was about 40% of what...

Posted by policyhomeowner66•6mo ago

3 comments

SUCCESS! Fire Damage claim approved in full

I cant believe it actually worked! My fire damage claim got approved for the full amount today.What made the difference I think was having detailed photos with timestamps and getting three contractor...

Posted by frustrated_policyholder•6mo ago

5 comments