Building Code Costs While Rebuilding After a House Fire

What’s In This Articles

• Introduction
• Building Code Insurance Coverage?
• Are Building Codes Covered By My Insurance Question?
• Can a Public Adjuster Help Me?

You and your spouse love old houses, especially yours. Unfortunately, a house fire damaged a large section of your beloved home. Consequently, you filed an insurance claim, intending to repair your fire-damaged home. However, your insurance company is telling you that you don’t have building code coverage. Therefore, your homeowners’ insurance will not cover building code costs while rebuilding after a house fire. As a result, you are going to have to pay a large portion of the cost of rebuilding your fire-damaged home yourself.

However, neither your real estate agent nor your insurance agent mentioned this possibility to you. 

Now, what are your options?

Building Code Insurance Coverage

Standard homeowners’ insurance policies provide replacement cost coverage for damage to homes. Of course, this means the insurance company will pay for building materials of like kind and quality of the damaged home to rebuild or repair the house. 

Nevertheless, the problem for the property owners above is that standard homeowners’ insurance policies do not provide building code coverage. Conversely, building code coverage covers the additional cost to rebuild for the owners of older homes so that the home complies with current local building codes.

Moreover, the cost of rebuilding your home to comply with the current building codes could be substantial. 

For instance, some municipalities will not permit a new building to be built on existing foundations if the prior home was destroyed by a fire. As a result, a new foundation will have to be built. However, replacement cost coverage typically excludes coverage for building foundations.

As another example, a town may require that a home that is more than 50% damaged be demolished. Notwithstanding that, replacement cost insurance does not cover the demolition and removal of the fire-damaged house.

If You Need a Public Adjuster to Help You with Building Code Costs While Rebuilding After a House Fire, Call AllCity Adjusting

We are a family-owned claims company with five decades of combined adjusting experience. Consequently, if there’s one thing our public adjusters in Los Angeles and other cities understand, it’s that you need 100% of your claim value.

Notably, insurance companies undervalue your claim 8 out of 10 times. Moreover, they hire expensive claims adjusters to ensure they maintain a strong profit margin. In addition, they have experienced actuaries that help their team of agents challenge your insurance claim’s validity and value.

We Can Help You with Building Code Costs While Rebuilding After a House Fire

Certainly, having a fire or severe storm damage your home means you have already gone through a tumultuous event. However, if you have an older home, you may face additional costs during the rebuilding process because of building code changes since your home was constructed. 

Unfortunately, over the years, building codes in communities across the country have expanded. Indeed, all aspects of a home structure-heating, air conditioning, plumbing and electrical-have codes and standards that have changed. Nonetheless, to get the necessary permits and certificates of occupancy, those standards must be met.  

Consequently, we can work with your contractor so that the contractor identifies the parts of his estimate which are related to repairing damage caused by the fire and those related to making building code upgrades. 

Moreover, if you have an old home you cherish and want to fully protect, we can review your homeowners’ policy with you. Therefore, you will know what types of losses are covered and which are not.

Additionally, our public adjusters in Tennessee can review a typical building code endorsement with you, assess the fire risk you face, and suggest what level of protection you should get. Consequently, should experience a fire or similar covered event, you will know that the building code coverage you selected will cover the full scope of your loss. Additionally, the coverage will let you repair your home to your satisfaction.  

At AllCity Adjusting we work to ensure you get 100% of your claim value.

With over 50 years of combined adjusting experience, we know insurance companies and understand where they cut corners. Therefore, our public adjusters in San Francisco and other areas help you build a larger claim, maximize your claim value, and get you back to normal fast.

Finally, don’t get fooled, get the company that gets you more. Call us today at 844.692.3587 or visit our website to find an office near you.