Reminders for Home Owners

The office received a call from a family in the Kenai Peninsula area regarding a dispute with their home owner’s insurance over coverage after a house fire. The family was displaced out of their home and lost all their possessions after the devastating fire. In addition to this loss they are now battling with the insurance company to pay for the damage so they can begin to rebuild their home and their lives. We took the case and are currently in discussions with the insurance company.

After investigating the details of this fire and the amount of loss felt by our clients, we are reminded of several tips for homeowners that will help ease the pain and difficulty in the event of a house fire. Here are just a few to keep in mind:

• Take pictures or a video of every item worth $100 or more in every room of the house (including serial numbers)
• Check/test fire alarms on a regular basis
• Change fire alarm batteries as soon as they are getting low
• Keep bar-b-que grills a safe distance from your home, including any charcoal for charcoal grills
• Regularly maintain your chimneys, fireplaces, wood stoves, etc.
• Keep a fire extinguisher easily accessible on every level of your home
• Have a fire escape plan for your family and practice it with your children

Luckily for our clients the mother and children were not at home at the time of the fire and the father sustained only minor injuries. We hope that with these reminders you can keep your home and more importantly your family safe from a house fire. But should such devastation strike and the insurance company deny coverage, look us up. As always, we hope you never need us but we’re here if you do.