How to Make a Fire Damage Insurance Claim in the UK

Last month we restored a three-bed semi in Bishopston where the homeowner lost over £8,000 because she made one mistake with her insurance claim. She threw away damaged items before the loss adjuster visited.

Eight grand. Gone. Because nobody told her the process.

I’ve worked alongside insurers on hundreds of fire damage claims over 25 years. Here’s exactly how to handle yours so you get what you’re owed.

Step 1: Notify Your Insurer Immediately

Ring your insurance company the same day as the fire. Not tomorrow. Not when you’ve calmed down. Today.

Most home insurance policies have a condition requiring you to report claims “as soon as reasonably possible.” Waiting gives them ammunition to question your claim or reduce your payout. It’s in the small print.

When you call, you’ll need:

• Your policy number (check your email if you can’t find the paperwork)
• The fire service incident number
• A brief description of what happened
• The property address

They’ll give you a claim reference number. Write it down somewhere safe.

Ask about emergency provisions straight away. Most policies cover emergency accommodation, boarding-up costs, and immediate living expenses. Some insurers arrange this directly. Others reimburse you. Either way, you need to know before you start spending money.

Keep every receipt from day one. Hotel, food, clothes, toiletries, travel. Everything. Your policy should cover “reasonable additional living expenses” for the duration of the restoration.

Step 2: Document Everything Before Anything Moves

This is where claims are won or lost.

Before any cleaning starts, before anything gets removed, before the skip arrives - photograph and video everything.

I mean everything:

• Every room, even ones that look undamaged (smoke damage is often invisible at first)
• Close-ups of damaged items with wide shots showing their location
• Serial numbers and labels on electronics and appliances
• Contents of cupboards and drawers before they’re emptied
• Structural damage to walls, ceilings, floors, windows
• The exterior of the property

Do this on your phone. Back it up to the cloud immediately. I’ve seen people lose their only photos because their phone broke two days later.

Start a contents list. Go room by room and list every damaged or destroyed item. Include the brand, age, and what you paid for it if you can remember. You won’t get everything on the first pass. Keep adding to it over the coming weeks.

If you have old photos of your rooms (estate agent listing photos, holiday snaps with your living room in the background), dig them out. They prove what you owned.

Don’t bin anything until the loss adjuster has seen it. I know it looks like rubbish. But “rubbish” with a serial number is evidence. “Rubbish” that a specialist can restore is money in your pocket.

Step 3: Understand Who’s Who

This trips up almost everyone. There are two different professionals with very similar names, and they work for opposite sides.

Loss Adjuster - works for the insurance company. Your insurer appoints them to assess the damage and agree the claim value. They’re professional and usually fair, but their employer is the insurer, not you. Their goal is to settle the claim accurately, but they’re not going out of their way to find things you’ve missed.

Loss Assessor - works for you. You appoint and pay them (typically 8-12% of the claim value, sometimes on a no-win-no-fee basis). They prepare your claim, negotiate with the insurer’s loss adjuster, and fight your corner.

On small claims under a few thousand pounds, you probably don’t need a loss assessor. On anything significant - and most fire damage claims are significant - they’ll usually recover more than their fee.

The restoration company (that’s us) sits in the middle. We provide detailed reports, specialist quotes, and scope-of-works documents that both sides use to agree the claim. A good restoration company that understands insurance work makes the whole process smoother.

Honestly, I’ve seen loss assessors add £15,000 to claims that homeowners thought were settled. The insurers aren’t trying to cheat you, but they won’t chase up things you haven’t claimed for.

Step 4: Getting the Right Restoration Quote

This is where my 25 years of experience really comes in.

A general builder will quote you for replastering, painting, and new flooring. That might be £6,000.

A specialist fire damage restorer will quote for soot removal, chemical cleaning, thermal fogging, ozone treatment, structural drying, contents pack-out and restoration, HEPA air scrubbing, and then the replastering, painting, and new flooring. That might be £14,000.

The difference isn’t that we’re more expensive. It’s that we’re quoting for the actual work needed. The builder’s quote misses half the job. Six months later you’ll still have smoke smell in the walls, soot staining bleeding through fresh paint, and corroded electrics.

When you get your restoration quote, make sure it includes:

• Emergency works (boarding up, water extraction, making safe)
• Specialist cleaning (soot removal from all surfaces using correct methods)
• Odour treatment (thermal fogging, ozone, hydroxyl - whatever’s needed)
• Contents restoration (specialist cleaning of furniture, clothing, documents, electronics)
• Structural drying (if the fire brigade used water)
• Restoration works (replastering, decorating, flooring, fixtures)
• Project management and compliance (waste disposal, air quality testing)

Your insurer needs this level of detail. Vague quotes get challenged. Detailed, itemised quotes get approved.

We provide full fire damage restoration quotes that insurers accept because they cover the right scope of work with clear pricing. No surprises halfway through.

Common Mistakes That Reduce Your Payout

I’ve watched people leave money on the table for 25 years. Here are the mistakes I see over and over:

Throwing things away too early. Already covered this, but it bears repeating. That smoke-damaged sofa might be restorable. If it isn’t, the loss adjuster needs to see it to agree the replacement cost. Once it’s in a skip, it’s your word against nothing.

Not claiming for smoke damage in “undamaged” rooms. Smoke travels through your entire property. Rooms that look fine often need professional cleaning, repainting, and odour treatment. If you don’t claim for them, you’ll pay for them yourself when the smell appears three weeks later.

Accepting the first offer without question. The initial settlement offer is a starting point, not a final answer. If it doesn’t cover proper restoration, push back. Get your restoration company to provide a detailed breakdown showing why the costs are what they are.

Using a non-specialist contractor. I don’t say this to be self-serving. General builders genuinely don’t know what fire restoration involves. They’ll paint over soot damage. They’ll skip the odour treatment. They’ll miss the smoke in the cavity walls. Twelve months later you’ve got problems they can’t explain and your claim is long closed.

Forgetting about contents. People focus on the building and forget to claim properly for contents. Clothing, bedding, curtains, soft furnishings - these absorb smoke and often can’t be saved. Electronics corrode from soot exposure. Books, documents, photos need specialist treatment. It all adds up. I’ve seen contents claims worth more than the building claim.

Not keeping a diary. Write down what happens, when, and who said what. Dates of phone calls, names of people you spoke to, what was agreed. If there’s ever a dispute, this record is gold.

Settling too quickly. Some damage doesn’t show up for weeks. Soot staining can bleed through paint. Electrical problems emerge. Smoke odour returns when the heating goes on. Don’t close your claim until you’re confident everything is sorted.

Need Help With Your Claim?

We work with every major UK insurer. We know their processes, their expectations, and their preferred formats for documentation and quotes.

If you’ve had a fire in Bristol, call us before you do anything else. We’ll assess the damage, secure the property, and provide the detailed documentation your insurer needs to process your claim properly.

Emergency line (24/7): 0808 303 7072 Main line: 07985 505061 Email: hello@bristolcleaningheroes.co.uk

Bristol Cleaning Heroes 290-294 Southmead Rd, Bristol BS10 5EN £2M insured | 25 years’ experience