Published 2026-09-14 by Unified Public Advocacy · Part of the Fire Loss Resource Hub
The short version
A fire claim is not decided by how bad the fire was. It is decided by the record of the loss — the photographs, the lists, the receipts, the estimates, and the paper trail of who told you what. Your job in the weeks after a fire is to build that record before anyone needs it.
There are four separate records, and they are usually kept in four separate places: the damage to the building, the list of contents, the money you are spending because you cannot live at home, and the log of every communication with the insurer.
- Building damage: photos, video, and a room-by-room description of what is damaged.
- Contents: an item-by-item inventory with what each item is, roughly when you got it, and what it costs to replace.
- Living expenses: every receipt, plus evidence of what you normally spend.
- Communications: names, dates, claim numbers, and copies of everything written.
Start with the building, room by room
Work through the property in a fixed order and stay in it. Exterior first, all four sides, then each interior room, then the attic, basement, garage and any outbuildings. A consistent order is what stops rooms from being missed, and it makes the file legible to someone who was not there.
Photograph wide first so a room is identifiable, then move in close on specific damage. Video walk-throughs are useful because they capture context and sequence, but they are not a substitute for still photographs — an adjuster or an estimator needs a still they can point at.
Damage from a fire is not confined to what burned. Smoke residue travels into rooms the flames never reached, and water used to fight the fire moves down and outward through the structure. Document the rooms that look untouched too, along with the parts of the building firefighters deliberately opened up to reach the fire.
The contents list is a separate job
The adjuster will ask you for a home inventory — a list of the personal property that was damaged or destroyed. The NAIC guidance is reassuring on one point worth hearing early: if you do not already have one, the adjuster will give you some time to make it. Ask how much time.
If the property was destroyed and you have no records, you are expected to work from memory, and there are ways to make that memory better: photos already on your phone or in the cloud, photos family and friends took inside your home, and online retail listings to establish what a comparable item costs now.
Contents inventories are long and tedious, which is why they are so often the weakest part of a claim. It is worth treating it as its own project rather than something to squeeze in around the building damage.
Living expenses need their own file
If the fire made your home unlivable, the extra costs of living elsewhere are typically a separate coverage, reimbursed from receipts. It is the part of a fire claim most often left partly unclaimed, and the reason is almost always the same: nobody kept the small receipts in the first weeks.
Keep a simple running log alongside the receipts. Date, what it was for, how much. The log is what makes a shoebox of receipts into something an adjuster can process.
Keep a communication log
From the first phone call, record the name and phone number of every person you speak to, the date, and what was said or decided. Ask for a claim or reference number at the outset and put it on everything.
Confirm meaningful conversations in writing. A short email that says what you understood — the scope agreed, the deadline mentioned, the document requested — costs nothing and turns a recollection into a record.
If any part of the claim is denied, ask for the denial in writing, and keep all of the paperwork. The NAIC gives that same advice, and it is the paperwork that makes any later challenge possible.
- Name, role and direct number of everyone you speak with.
- Date and time of every call, and a two-line note of what was said.
- Copies of everything sent and received, including the estimate and any denial.
- Dates you provided documents and dates you were told to expect a response.
What the insurer will actually ask for
The requests are fairly predictable, and having them ready before they are asked for is the difference between a claim that moves and a claim that stalls.
- A list of all damaged or destroyed personal property, with receipts showing when you bought items if you have them.
- A list of damage to the home and to other structures such as a garage, shed or in-ground pool.
- Photographs and video of the damage.
- Written contractor bids, detailing materials, prices and labor line by line. You are not required to have bids, but they help.
- Receipts for emergency repairs and for additional living expenses.
- A proof of loss form, if your insurer requires one. Ask whether it does, and by when.
Preparing for the adjuster visit
Be there when the adjuster inspects. That is the moment to hand over the lists you have prepared, show where you believe there is structural damage, and walk the rooms that do not look damaged but are.
The adjuster will photograph and measure, and may do some calculations on site. Take your own notes while it happens. Before they leave, get their contact information, ask what the next steps are, when you should expect to hear back, and what else they need from you.
Keep two copies, in two places
A fire claim file that only exists in the damaged house is a claim file that can be lost twice. Photograph or scan paper as you collect it and keep a copy somewhere else — cloud storage, an email to yourself, a relative with a filing cabinet.
The same applies to the photographs. Phone storage fills up, phones get lost during a displacement, and the photographs taken in the first 48 hours are the ones that cannot be retaken.
Fire claim documentation checklist
- Wide and close photographs of every exterior elevation.
- Wide and close photographs of every room, including rooms with only smoke or water damage.
- Video walk-through with narration of what you are looking at.
- Room-by-room written description of the damage.
- Contents inventory, item by item.
- Photographs of damaged contents before anything is discarded.
- Receipts for emergency board-up, tarping and cleanup.
- Receipts and running log for living expenses.
- Contractor bids, itemized.
- Communication log with names, dates and claim number.
- Copies of the policy declarations page and any correspondence.
- A second copy of everything, stored away from the property.
What causes documentation to fail
- Photographing only the burned rooms. Smoke and water damage in rooms that never saw flame is real damage and routinely goes unclaimed.
- Cleaning or discarding before photographing. This is irreversible.
- Keeping the whole file on one phone.
- Relying on memory for who authorized what. Six months in, nobody remembers.
- Submitting a contents list with categories instead of items — one line for kitchen rather than the contents of the kitchen.
- Not asking, in writing, whether a proof of loss is required and when it is due.
Related on this site
Sources
The factual statements on this page about insurance claim practice, fire recovery and mortgage handling come from the primary sources below. Where something depends on your specific policy or on the law in your state, this page says so rather than generalizing.
- Post-Disaster Claims Guide
National Association of Insurance Commissioners - What You Should Know About Settling a Homeowners Insurance Claim
National Association of Insurance Commissioners - Checking Your Home After a Fire
American Red Cross - After the Fire: Returning to Normal (FA-46)
U.S. Fire Administration, FEMA - Insurance Departments — directory of all 56 jurisdictions
National Association of Insurance Commissioners