What to Do After a House Fire
Get everyone safe, then call your insurer to start the claim and ask about advance funds for a hotel and essentials.
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Where you sleep tonight
If the house is unsafe to live in, your policy's loss of use coverage pays for a hotel or rental and extra food costs above what you'd normally spend. Keep every receipt. Your insurer may pay some of this upfront, before the rest of the claim is settled.
Two separate claims
Fire damage to the structure falls under dwelling coverage. Burned or smoke-damaged belongings fall under personal property coverage. You'll likely end up filing and documenting both, so start a list of damaged or lost items with approximate value and age as soon as you can.
What rebuilding pays for
Dwelling coverage is meant to pay what it costs to rebuild the house, not what it would have sold for. If the estimate to rebuild comes in above your coverage limit, check your declarations page for extended or guaranteed replacement cost, which some policies include.
Wildfire and future coverage
If a wildfire caused the damage, a standard policy typically covers it, since wildfire isn't a standard exclusion like flood or earthquake. But after a claim, or in a high-risk area, insurers may reassess your policy at renewal, so ask what happens to your coverage and premium going forward.
If rebuilding costs come in above your dwelling limit, the gap is money you'd owe yourself, and if a wildfire claim changes how your current insurer prices or renews your policy, that's worth knowing before the renewal letter arrives. Comparing what other insurers would charge to rebuild the same house, with the same risk, shows whether staying put still makes sense.
How the claims process actually plays out
An adjuster will come look at the house, or in a large wildfire event, review satellite and drone imagery alongside your own photos. Walk the property with them if you can, and point out damage that might not be obvious, like smoke that got into the HVAC system or warped framing behind drywall that looks fine from outside. Their initial estimate is a starting point, not a final number. If a contractor's bid comes in higher, you can submit it and ask the insurer to revisit the estimate.
For the contents claim, the list you're building matters more than you'd think. Go room by room if you can still access the house, or work from memory and old photos if you can't. Include the age of each item and roughly what you paid, since most policies pay out based on either actual cash value, which factors in depreciation, or replacement cost, which doesn't. Your declarations page says which one applies to your personal property coverage. Smoke-damaged items that still look intact, like clothing or upholstery, often carry odors or residue that make them a legitimate total loss, so don't assume something survived just because it wasn't burned.
Money for repairs and rebuilding usually comes in installments tied to the work getting done, not as one lump sum. The insurer typically pays an initial amount to get started, then releases more as the contractor completes stages of the job. Keep your insurer's claims adjuster in the loop as work progresses, since delays or change orders can affect when the next payment comes through. If you're using a public adjuster or a contractor who's handling the claim paperwork for you, read what they're charging before you sign anything, since their fee usually comes out of your settlement.
If you're in a wildfire-prone area and haven't filed a claim yet, it's worth understanding how insurers are already pricing that risk into what you pay. Some have pulled back on writing new policies in the highest-risk zones, or require specific defensible space and roofing materials to keep coverage. None of that changes what a standard policy covers once a fire happens, but it shapes what your options look like at renewal, especially if your area has seen other wildfire activity recently.
What else you'll need to sort out
Temporary repairs to protect the house from further damage, boarding up windows, tarping a roof, draining pipes to stop freezing, are usually reimbursable if you keep receipts. Don't wait for the adjuster's approval before doing this kind of work, since a reasonable effort to prevent more damage is something insurers expect. Do avoid starting permanent rebuilding before the claim is assessed, since that can complicate the adjuster's ability to document what happened.
Mortgage companies are often listed on a homeowners policy as a loss payee, which means a rebuilding check may be made out to both you and the lender. The lender has to sign off before funds are released, and some require proof that repairs are underway before releasing their share. Call the mortgage servicer early to find out what they need, since this step surprises a lot of homeowners partway through a claim.
Ash and smoke damage can extend well beyond what burned. HVAC systems, insulation, and even structural wood can hold smoke residue that affects air quality or causes corrosion over time. If the fire was nearby rather than in the house itself, it's worth asking the adjuster whether smoke and ash cleanup is covered, since this sometimes gets missed in an initial walkthrough focused on visible fire damage.
Keep a simple record of every call, email, and document tied to the claim. Write down who you spoke with, the date, and what was said, especially any estimate numbers or promised payment dates. If the claim stalls or a disagreement comes up later about what was approved, this record is often the only thing that settles it. Most states also give homeowners the right to appeal a denied or underpaid claim through the state insurance department, so ask your insurer what that process looks like if you reach a disagreement you can't resolve directly.
Before you do anything else
Check your declarations page for your dwelling limit and whether contents are covered at replacement cost or actual cash value. Once you have a rebuild estimate, compare it against that limit.
