Q: On December 8, 2017, my family suffered a house fire.
We immediately called to start a claim. The insurance claims adjustor said he did not need to send out a fire investigator on December 12, 2017. He asked that I make a list of lost items and send it to him, which I did on December 22, 2017. After that he claimed to be working on an estimate. On January 8, 2018, he called to say he realized he didn't have any pictures of the loss. They were immediately sent to him, and he claimed he was working on an estimate of losses. After waiting for almost two weeks he called on January 19, 2018, to say he needed to send out a fire investigator, which we met with on January 20, 2018. He took pictures. After leaving the property, the insurance claims adjustor called to say "something is not adding up here," and he didn't have a copy of the fire report. I immediately called the fire chief to get all the information to email to the claims adjustor. The claims adjuster doesn't believe there was even a fire. Assigned to SIU. Do we need a lawyer?
A: I suggest that you at least contact an attorney to discuss your potential case against your insurance company. You should also try to obtain a copy of the fire investigative report from the local fire department or chief, and from the State Fire Marshall's office.
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