Claim Update July 27th

It has been a hectic few weeks, stress has been high and emotions have been all over the place. We have housing, currently in a hotel until August 2nd when we will be moving into a single family home in West Arvada. This will be nice to have a space that we can begin to process this event. This has been the most difficult part of the claim so far. The third-party that handles the Additional Living Expenses is not the best at communication and the process was not explained well by them. But things have settled down.

Below is a timeline of the claim and where we stand and next steps as we understand it:

July 15th – Met with Travelers property adjusters to determine “Large Loss” status and send to that team. They did give us $7,500 for initial expenses such as clothing, personal hygiene products, etc.

July 19th – Met with Jim Black Construction and the process of rebuilding our home. We felt very comfortable selecting them because they keep the majority of the pieces in house, design, abatement, engineering, etc. This should hopefully keep construction on track once we are able to start.

July 20th – Met with the Cause & Origin inspector at the property to determine the cause and origin of the fire. It was determined that it was a grease fire in the grill that caught the propane hose on fire and resulting damage.

July 26th – Met with Ben from the Large Loss team at Travelers. He explained the process a bit more and the revised limits on our policy. Interior and exterior photos were taken of the house and Travelers and Jim Black will be working on the estimate and we should have that in about a month.

Currently we are in a holding pattern, we need Travelers to say its okay to clear the property and begin the clean-up. Due to the asbestoses things are more complex. The main level and most of the basement have tested positive for asbestoses. Any textile or fabric items in those areas will be disposed of after an inventory has been made each item. Any hard surface can be cleaned and safe to use. From what we understand is the contents will have to be inventoried, cleaned or discarded. Once that is complete they can begin the abatement of the rest of the dwelling.

Emotionally we are doing, the biggest feeling is “we just want to go home.” And this is just not possible and having to work through those feelings. Right now we feel like we don’t have a place we belong, but this should change once we are in the rental. The other difficult piece is realizing certain things will never be in our possession again. Today’s “gut punch” was the probability that my Legos will be disposed of. I’m not talking a few, I’m talking a card table size space base of Legos. The hours and memories of building, rearranging, and playing with them is hard. I even have some of my Dad’s Legos. The other “gut punch” was the doilies that my grandmother and great-grandmother crocheted.

I will end it here by saying thank you to everyone who has reached out, offered help, and the prayers. Those are truly and deeply appreciated.

Ryan, Andy & Christine