Fire insurance is a crucial aspect of protecting your business from devastating financial losses. Fires can occur at any time, and the resulting damage can lead to expensive repairs or even the destruction of your business. Having fire insurance ensures that you are financially protected in case of a fire.
With fire insurance, you can receive compensation for the damages caused by the fire, including the cost of repairing or rebuilding your business, replacing any damaged equipment, and compensating for lost income during the downtime. This compensation can help your business recover from the financial loss caused by the fire and get back on its feet.
Without fire insurance, your business may not be able to survive a major fire, as the cost of repairing or rebuilding the property and replacing lost equipment could be overwhelming. Therefore, it is important to ensure that you have adequate fire insurance coverage that meets the needs of your business. In summary, fire insurance is essential for any business that wants to protect itself from the financial devastation of a fire.
If a misfortune befalls, take the following steps immediately:
- Inform losses or damages immediately to the insurance company so that a competent surveyor can come to ascertain the total losses
- Give the estimated figures for damages
- Give full corporation to surveyors by giving them all the necessary documents for assessment of the loss
- Corporate with the insurer or their surveyor in all their activities of entering the premises, taking possession of properties, sorting, removing, etc.; without prejudice
- Give information about all other insurance policies existing on the properties at the time of loss
Common documents required for filing claims under the Fire Insurance policy or Standard Fire and Special Peril Policy are:
- Duly certified copy of the insurance policy along with the schedule and endorsements
- Duly filled claim form
- Newspaper report on the incident, if there is any
- Photographs
- Previous claim experience
In case of a fire claim, here are some additional documents which are required:
- Report submitted by the internal committee, which was constituted for investigating the cause of the fire
- Fire Brigade report
- First Information Report (FIR)/Letter of intimation to the police station duly endorsed/Police Panchnama
- Forensic reports on samples collected from the affected site
- Final Investigation Report (FIR)
Flood Claims (additional document)
- Metrological Report
Explosion Claims (additional document)
- Factory Inspector’s Report
A claim for loss by fire must satisfy the following conditions:
- The loss should be caused by the actual fire or ignition and not only by the high temperature
- The ignition must be of the goods or of the premises where the goods are kept
- The fire must be accidental and not intentional
Please note, the information given above is not exhaustive, and therefore, you should contact the insurer or read the policy document for more information.
Case Study on filing claims under a Fire Insurance policy
Rajesh had a flourishing cloth business in Surat when unfortunately a fire erupted in his factory last month and engulfed stock worth crores. As the fire started during working hours, four workers also got injured in the accident. Rajesh appointed a three-member committee to know the reason for the fire and compute the total loss. As he had a fire insurance policy, he approached the insurer to file a claim. On receiving the claim request from Rajesh, the insurer appointed a surveyor who visited the mill to know the extent of the damage.
The surveyor talked to workers and fire brigade officers also to ensure that it was merely an accident and not an intentional activity. The surveyor submitted its report to the insurer who asked Rajesh to submit documents like the fire brigade report, the final report of the three-member internal committee, a copy of the FIR, etc. The insurer carefully analyzed all the documents along with the surveyor’s report and settled the claim accordingly.
