Well it did.We had a fire at our place.The living room and kitchen are a total write off.
Everyone is ok,the dogs and cat included. Check your alarms.The smoke alarm in the hall most likely saved my life,though I did not hear the ones down stairs(and it had been a good long while since I checked batteries).
This happened in late October,and life has been total chaos since.Our insurance company has been great/horrible. The house is actually recovering quickly,but we argue nearly all details with them.They had us in a hotel the day after(*thanks esrice)and we are now in an apartment until the house is finished(3-5 months).
A few things I have learned.
1.You do not have enough pictures or anywhere near a complete inventory.
This boils down to having an image or receipt for every single item in your home.Without one or the other as far as the insurance goes the item did not exist.We had pictures of every large item in the house.My advice go open every drawer,cabinet,shelf,nook,and cranny in your house and take a picture and add them to a portable hard drive to keep in your vehicle or with a relative(or BOB).
2.Dogs.
While our puppies are the most wonderful animals on earth...they do have a down side.I would never give up the dogs,that said they have made life much more difficult. They are both inside dogs.At the house it was a simple matter to care for them.Open the back door and out they went.After the fire it has been MUCH harder. At the hotel first walking 3 flights of stairs a few times a day for potty time,and taking both of them with us nearly every where.Neither had spent much time on a lead prior to the fire,they now are normally on one when outside.The apartment we are in now(just over 1000 sq feet)is a nightmare for them.We have only been here 3 days and both dogs still bark at the slightest noise(ie non stop).Still I would not give either up for anything.
More later....it has been a long day of inventory,phone calls,and meeting different contractors.
Everyone is ok,the dogs and cat included. Check your alarms.The smoke alarm in the hall most likely saved my life,though I did not hear the ones down stairs(and it had been a good long while since I checked batteries).
This happened in late October,and life has been total chaos since.Our insurance company has been great/horrible. The house is actually recovering quickly,but we argue nearly all details with them.They had us in a hotel the day after(*thanks esrice)and we are now in an apartment until the house is finished(3-5 months).
A few things I have learned.
1.You do not have enough pictures or anywhere near a complete inventory.
This boils down to having an image or receipt for every single item in your home.Without one or the other as far as the insurance goes the item did not exist.We had pictures of every large item in the house.My advice go open every drawer,cabinet,shelf,nook,and cranny in your house and take a picture and add them to a portable hard drive to keep in your vehicle or with a relative(or BOB).
2.Dogs.
While our puppies are the most wonderful animals on earth...they do have a down side.I would never give up the dogs,that said they have made life much more difficult. They are both inside dogs.At the house it was a simple matter to care for them.Open the back door and out they went.After the fire it has been MUCH harder. At the hotel first walking 3 flights of stairs a few times a day for potty time,and taking both of them with us nearly every where.Neither had spent much time on a lead prior to the fire,they now are normally on one when outside.The apartment we are in now(just over 1000 sq feet)is a nightmare for them.We have only been here 3 days and both dogs still bark at the slightest noise(ie non stop).Still I would not give either up for anything.
More later....it has been a long day of inventory,phone calls,and meeting different contractors.
