Compensation for my Time Spent Itemizing my Destroyed Goods

[mcalanch]

Hello,

My garage was pretty well destroyed by an arson fire. I had mutplie bicycles and parts new and used in the garage as mountain biking is my main hobby. Not trusting that a disaster restoration company would know what they were looking at as many of the destoyed items were specialized and unique, I have gone through and photographed and itemized all of the items that I was able to find. I have also done multiple trips to the local dump getting rid of items after I have documented them. My question is......how do I go about making sure that I get fairly compensated for my time spent in this process? Is there a industry standard hourly rate for this type of work? I have a rough idea of how much ti e I have spent and have made some notes as to when and where....but I know it is far from totally exact. Due I submit an invoice to the insurance company?

please help

thank you

matt in bend oregon

 

[benk622]

No, cataloging your stuff is your responsibility. Generally it should be done as you buy the items and in case of a loss it would of saved you a lot of time. Send them an invoice if you like, it will give your adjuster a good laugh.

 

[KSmith]

Generally when I meet with my clients I tell them it is a good idea to catalog and inventory their personal goods even though it is a time-consuming project for the exact reasons you listed. Insurance will not compensate you for your time as this is considered due diligence on your part. The only instance I know of that an insurance agency will compensate you for time is when you are performing your own repairs and labor on a loss.

 

[marc82much]

Hello,

My garage was pretty well destroyed by an arson fire. I had mutplie bicycles and parts new and used in the garage as mountain biking is my main hobby. Not trusting that a disaster restoration company would know what they were looking at as many of the destoyed items were specialized and unique, I have gone through and photographed and itemized all of the items that I was able to find. I have also done multiple trips to the local dump getting rid of items after I have documented them. My question is......how do I go about making sure that I get fairly compensated for my time spent in this process? Is there a industry standard hourly rate for this type of work? I have a rough idea of how much ti e I have spent and have made some notes as to when and where....but I know it is far from totally exact. Due I submit an invoice to the insurance company?

please help

thank you

matt in bend oregon

Matt,

Cost and effort to prepare documentation for your claim is your responsibility.