Hopefully, you should not need to make a claim for a fire insurance. But, if you have previously experienced a home fire or are worried about it, let us give you advice on how you can reduce the risk.
Does Home Insurance Cover Fire?
Most of the time it does. But, before you sign up for a policy, you should always check the details of the home fire insurance.
Fire can break out in a home for all sorts of reasons. Make sure your home policy covers every conceivable reason. Storm damage can cause fires to break out. What if the fire starts in another property and spreads to yours?
Water damage can also lead to fires breaking out. As the climate continues to heat up, the risk of wildfires and grass fires is on the increase. Are you covered as part of your home fire insurance?
Stray sparks from barbeques have been known to lead to fires. Make sure you place yours in a safe area.
How Can You Prevent Fires?
Environmental allergens include pollen and mold. When you are allergic to grass pollen or pollen from other plants, regular HVAC cleaning removes common allergens in your home environment.
Just like in your car, pollen and other allergens like to call the HVAC system their home. Even relatively large pollen can be sucked up by your HVAC. Before you know it, they are deposited all over your home or business.
Pollen and seeds often have small spurs on them which attach themselves to dust particles. They either stay or get blown out into the interior environment. When you have allergies, this quickly leads to unwanted symptoms such as sneezing and coughing. You may also experience a runny nose and sore eyes. Itchy skin is another symptom you should be aware.
Fire in Air Ducts
You may find this hard to believe, but Rapid Restoration Recovery Inc is often called out to deal with fires in HVAC or air duct systems.
Most restaurants and commercial kitchens are aware fires can break out in grease and grime. Over time, grease builds up in air ducts. Add dust and dirt to the equation and you have the perfect set of circumstances for a fire. Air duct cleaning is important in professional kitchens as well as in the home.
Does home insurance cover fire in your air vents? It may not. This kind of fire spreads fast and is a serious risk.
Bio Hazard Fires
Biohazard fires are rare, but once again, more frequent than we may think.
Many homeowners forget how important it is to store chemicals and dangerous liquids under the right conditions. Unless you store any flammable materials and liquids correctly, your home fire insurance claim may not be paid out.
We always recommend that you store flammable materials safely. If you have just bought a new home and found liquids that you don’t what they are, we have a 24/7 biohazard cleaning service.
Make sure you store dangerous substances safely.
Can Dust Combust?
That is a really good question. If there is a great deal of dust in the environment, and the atmospheric circumstances are right, it can combust.
It does not usually happen in homes, but it can happen. Did you know that bread flour combusts really easily?
If you bake a lot, make sure you don’t have too much flour out at the same time. As a matter of fact, many home fire insurance claims have started with the presence of flour.
Here’s an interesting factoid – flour can explode!
Fire Coming In
Your property and yard probably look lovely with trees and shrubs. Yes, it is nice to look out in a pretty garden.
But, as wildfires are more common, we should consider how we plant our gardens. Trees and shrubs should be kept away from the main building.
During serious fires in Australia, the local fire services discovered homes with fewer trees and shrubs close to the house faired better. However, trees and shrubs planted around the boundaries of the garden acted as natural fire breakers. Also, make sure you don’t have any tree branches hanging or growing over the roof of your home. This is a serious fire risk and can lead to a home fire insurance claim not being paid out.
Can Pollutants Cause Fires?
Yes, they can. High levels of pollution cause fires.
Does home insurance cover fires caused by pollution? It is rally hard to prove that your fire has been caused by pollution. But carbon emitted by a large number of vehicles can lead to a fire.
After all, soot and ash are made out of carbon particles. As we know, soot and ash smoulder which can lead to a fire breaking out.
If you live next to an industrial complex, keeping your windows closed on hot days is a good idea.
Fire Proof Materials in the Home
All materials can spread a fire or flames when ignited. But, there are some materials which are more likely to lead to a fire.
When you buy carpets and furniture make sure everything you buy is made from fire-retardant material. A sofa that has not been treated with fire retardant can go up in seconds.
Home fire insurance policies may say something about this. If the fire was caused by a soft furnishing material which had not been treated for fire, you could have a problem with your claim.
Does Home Insurance Cover Fire Caused by Faulty Wiring?
This is something we often forget to do. It is so easy to neglect.
But, if you have frequent power failures or the light flickers, you could have defective electrical wiring in your home. Before it is too late, get it checked out.
Wire inspections used to be very invasive. Thanks to new technology, this is no any longer the case. If you would like more advice on how you can protect your home from electrical fires, give us at Rapid Restoration Recovery a call. We are more than happy to help.
Dealing with Home Fire Insurance Claims
If you have experienced a fire, we can help you with your claim. We offer a free home fire insurance estimate service.
In case of smaller fires, we can also help. Fire cleanup costs are not always expensive. Instead of worrying about does home insurance cover fire, give us a call and find out how we can help.