How to Survive a Fire: Day 1 (continued)

At 7 a.m. sharp, as if a race track announcer yelled “And their off!” they begin to come toward me. Enter the public adjusters.

As if they have a carbon copied script each one tells me how sorry they are for our lose and how evil the insurance company is and will try to “rip you off (nicer way of quoting them) anyway they can” and that they are the only ones looking out for me.

At this point I am in a daze from losing the house and our possessions and these guys know it and feed off confusion and raw emotions. My wife returns to all this and she tells me she will get us something to drink. She goes around the corner crying, and one of these vultures follows her into Starbucks to give her the sales pitch. It is relentless.

After we tell them to please leave and they stuff my hands with business cards we finally go to my parents’ house to get cleaned up.

The "evil" insurance company agent meets us there with breakfast, a care package and coloring books and toys for my daughter. To this day I have no idea how he knew where we were or what we needed, but he did. He must have used his "evil" insurance company powers.

As I get out of my car by my parents in Massapequa, a 4x4 pulls up to ask if I know an Anthony Merlo of Merrick. A public adjuster was good enough to go through the phone book looking for my relatives figuring I would be there. What a great way to make a living! Feeding off people’s tragedy and exhaustion, but of course as all the adjusters told me, they are different from the others, they really care and they will help me.

I still try to figure out if I sign a legal document with my insurance company for say $200,000.00 how are you getting me $200,001.00? I can’t imagine how these guys sleep at night but I guess if you are signed with an insurance company nobody has heard of or you signed up to save money in 15 minutes you get what you pay for and they might be able to help.

Of course when they get you to sign at that moment of venerability and you might want to discuss the things like the percentage fee of monies recovered (some offer to reduce it to help you in your time of need) the fact they most probably will hold up construction for who knows how long as they are trying to get as much money out of the insurance company to increase their fee (that must be the looking out for you part) and why they get you when you are exhausted and not thinking clearly.

Now I am sure there are reputable public adjusters out there, probably the ones not on your doorstep right after the firefighters leave and ones you have to seek out yourself. In fact some very good friends did give us the names of some should we need them, but we decide only as a last resort should something happen. So far so good and besides if they meet you to try to sell you something in front of what was your house, I’d think twice before even talking to them.

Amazingly they all had the same horror story about the evils of the insurance company and how successful they were for the people they signed. They had references from “clients they helped”, slick looking presentation folders, some dressed like they were on the way to the golf course some as if they were going to a wedding, all had the same thing to say and they were willing to fall over each other to say it. I even received form letters in the mail (some to my parents address!)  with my name written on a line: Dear (Mr.) (Mrs.) (Miss) _________ and the standard scripted sales pitch as well as countless "offers" in my fence.

They are sure to write in about how valuable their services are and brag of the money they recover for their clients. I am sure they did. But think about how they make their living and tell me I’m wrong for thinking about them the way I do. If you are insured with the major companies you will be glad you did not try to save a few dollars with no name insurance companies. You get exactly what you pay for and I will be taking about this next time.

I am not here to endorse any one of the major insurance companies. I will gladly share my experience with the one I do have and believe me I am very happy I didn’t “call to save money” on this major necessity. So now you are looking at what was your family’s house.

It’s time to start the long and exhausting process of rebuilding just hours after the fire is put out. I went to Staples to get plenty of legal pads and pens, phone books, stationary and everything a home office needs. There are dozens of calls to make and each time you make it write down who it was to, who you spoke with the time and what was said. Ask them to repeat what they said until you have it written down exact.

Start with the insurance company, and any reputable one will be there in hours with a check for you to start getting you settled. Remember, you now have the cloths on your back and you need everything from socks to toothpaste. Wal-Mart is about to become your new favorite destination! You will be there so much the cashiers will know you by name.

And do not be afraid to ask for $10,000.00 easy. It sounds like a lot but it will be gone before you know it. Think about all the things you need and use in a regular day and now think how it all needs to be replaced and this includes your family as well. $10,000.00 should last a week or two at best at this point. They should also arrange for a place to stay. You will be offered several options from a trailer on the front lawn of your property to a motel. The choice is yours and not such great ones. Family is best and you can arrange for insurance to pay them to pick up the expense. We were lucky when a fellow parishioner from our church offered a home he had for sale to us for as long as necessary.

We are happily renting that and we are close to our home. A trailer will be pushed on you from several companies but think about it; do you want to live next to your destroyed home for what can be anytime from 6 months to a year or more? The next call is to the mortgage company and the hazard division and to report the loss. There is paper work necessary to get your mortgage company ready to receive and distribute the insurance funds, usually in thirds to the construction company you hire. Be sure to get details and ask every question you can think of. Then call back in a day or two to be sure they are processing the information. Ours didn’t and it cost us many weeks to start in the rebuilding. Then it’s the utilities. You will be shut off by all the major utilities the day of the fire but you need to call to tell them or your bills keep coming.

I made this mistake and soon received a $600.00 gas bill with the threat of shut off! When I called it was adjusted and taken care of. And the cable boxes that are now a melted pile of plastic needs to be returned, with documentation of the fire (!) by the insurance company so you are not charged. It will amaze you how some companies will work with you others do not care. Cablevision was easy but the fact I needed proof of a fire as I returned several cable boxes fused to what was the shelf of our entertainment center amazed me. This is just the beginning. You will need several weeks off from work as it will not stop morning to night the first several days. You will be drained mentally, physically, emotionally and every other way imaginable.

And get ready, on day two the real insanity hits!