Preparing for the adjuster's first walk-through of a fire-damaged house in King County

The first walk-through is where the claim's scope starts to take shape. It is not where it ends, and a fire claim usually gets more than one look. Still, what the adjuster sees and writes down that day shapes what happens next, and you can do a lot to make it complete without being an expert.

In King County, the fire may have been answered by Seattle Fire, Bellevue Fire, Eastside Fire & Rescue, Puget Sound Fire or a smaller district, and the house could be anything from a balloon-framed Craftsman to a large Eastside two-story. The preparation is the same for all of them.

What changed in Washington on October 18

Washington amended its claims-handling rules, and the insurance commissioner's office and attorneys who have summarized them describe several points worth knowing. This is a plain-language summary, not legal advice:

• Timing. Insurers must finish investigations within 30 days unless a delay is justified, and send written updates every 30 days until the claim is resolved.
• Estimates. A reasonable investigation may not rely solely on a database, including estimating software. On request, the insurer has to say when its pricing data was collected, where it came from and which businesses supplied it.
• Your claim file. You can request it, and the insurer has 15 business days to produce it.
• Protecting the property. When a policy requires you to prevent further damage, the insurer has five business days to approve your proposed mitigation scope or provide its own.
• Written reasons. A denial, reduction or underpayment must come with a policy-based explanation and itemized dollar amounts.

The firm in-person inspection deadlines in the new rules are written for auto claims, so on a house fire, ask for an in-person visit plainly. Questions go to the commissioner's Consumer Advocacy line at 800-562-6900.

What to have ready

1. Confirm you may enter. Ask the fire department whether the house has been released. If part of it is unsafe, plan to meet outside and walk only what the officer allows. Wear hard-soled boots and an N95 respirator.
2. Get the whole policy, including the declarations page and endorsements, as the commissioner's fire claim sheet advises. Read the section on your duties after a loss.
3. Photograph and video every room before anything moves, closets and ceilings included. Keep the original files.
4. Keep what was damaged. The commissioner's office says not to throw out damaged items until the insurer has had a chance to inspect them, and to hold off on permanent repairs. Emergency work such as a board-up or tarp is different: you are expected to protect the property. Keep those receipts.
5. Write a one-page fact sheet: claim number, date and time of the fire, how it was discovered, who responded, and the incident number. Stick to what you know. If you do not know the cause, say so.
6. Gather proof of what the house was. Pre-fire photos, listing photos and receipts for a new roof or remodeled kitchen help the adjuster see the finishes that are no longer visible.
7. Start a room-by-room contents list. It does not have to be finished by the visit.
8. Open a receipts folder for hotel, food and laundry if the house is unlivable.
9. Schedule your contractor's estimator, if you have one, for the same visit. Fire damage assessment and estimates explains what a written scope contains.

What to point out

Walk top to bottom and do not stop at the burned rooms. The commissioner's office says an adjuster should evaluate all affected areas, including attics, crawl spaces, insulation and the HVAC system. These are the things to raise:

• Smoke beyond the fire: closets, drawers, cabinets, the attic and rooms with the doors shut.
• Water from the hoses: ceilings and floors below the fire room, wet insulation, the crawl space or basement.
• Heat damage in rooms that did not burn: melted switch plates, sagging light covers, warped vinyl windows.
• The HVAC system, and whether the furnace ran during or after the fire.
• The electrical system. Ask whether an electrician will check the wiring and panel.
• The outside: siding, gutters, fences, a detached garage, the roof where firefighters vented it and the windows they broke.
• How the house is built. Fire can travel through open wall cavities in an older Seattle Craftsman, so ask how the areas above ceilings and inside walls will be checked.
• Old materials. The Puget Sound Clean Air Agency says to survey for asbestos before any renovation. Ask whether the survey and any abatement belong in the scope.
• Code upgrades. Ask about your ordinance-or-law limit. King County has many permitting offices, from Seattle's Department of Construction and Inspections to individual cities and the county itself, and what a rebuild costs and who pays explains how that coverage works.

What to write down

• Who came: name, company, phone, email and license. A staff adjuster works for your insurer, and an independent adjuster is contracted by it and represents the company. You can verify a license with the commissioner's office.
• What was measured and photographed, and anything left out.
• What will be cleaned and what will be replaced, in the adjuster's words.
• Any exclusion or limit mentioned. Ask the adjuster to point to the specific provision in your policy, as the commissioner's office suggests.
• Temporary housing and advances. Ask what your limit is and whether an advance is available.
• The next step and its date.

That evening, email the adjuster a short recap of what you understood, and keep it with your log. The commissioner's office advises documenting every conversation about the claim.

What not to do

• Do not sign a release or settlement on the spot. Be wary of anyone pressing you to sign right after a loss, and be careful not to sign away claim rights in a repair contract.
• Do not guess or round up. "I will check and get back to you" is a good answer. The commissioner's office warns that padding a claim is fraud.
• Do not treat the first estimate as final. Demolition reveals more, and supplements are normal on a fire rebuild.

What it costs

These are typical Puget Sound ranges, not quotes, and they vary with the house and the provider. Your insurer does not bill you for its adjuster's visit. What you may pay for or be reimbursed for depends on your policy.

• Your own preparation: a folder, flashlights and respirators, usually under $50.
• Board-up or a roof tarp: commonly from a few hundred dollars to well over a thousand.
• A contractor's written scope: ask first whether there is a charge if you choose not to go ahead.
• Asbestos survey by a certified inspector: commonly a few hundred dollars and up, depending on the number of samples.
• Public adjuster: commonly around ten percent of the claim payment.
• Private appraiser, if you dispute value: varies with the size of the loss.

For restoration work, the terms are $0 upfront on covered claims - insurer billed directly - deductible applies. Your agent or adjuster can tell you what your policy covers.

When to call a professional

You can run the walk-through yourself, but bring in help when:

• The house has not been released, or the structure looks unsafe. Get emergency board-up and let the engineer or building official decide what comes next.
• The scope looks thin, or you have no contractor's estimate to compare it with.
• The question is repair versus rebuild. See repair or rebuild after a fire.
• The claim is large, stalled or disputed. Public adjusters explains when one is worth the fee, and an attorney is another option.
• Someone approaches you at the scene and wants a signature today.

An estimator can meet the adjuster anywhere in King County. Call (425) 842-3483, or text (844) 543-5757.