33 years restoring fire-damaged homes alongside Auto-Owners Insurance adjusters across Wayne, Oakland, Macomb, and Washtenaw counties. From 24/7 emergency board-up through smoke odor remediation and full rebuild, we document every line item to Xactimate standards — the same system Auto-Owners Insurance adjusters use. Auto-Owners is a Michigan-headquartered carrier with a strong local adjuster presence, which often means faster on-site inspections.
A fire claim often moves faster than a weather event but carries more complexity — hidden smoke penetration, structural compromise, and contents loss. Here's how a Auto-Owners Insurance fire claim typically moves in Michigan.
Phase III documents fire damage room by room — structural damage, smoke penetration depth, soot deposits on every surface, and HVAC contamination. Fire claims require a different documentation standard than weather claims.
We map every affected surface to a specific Xactimate line item, including remediation labor, materials, and equipment. Auto-Owners Insurance adjusters use the same Xactimate database, so our documentation aligns with their review process.
That alignment matters most on a fire claim, where odor remediation, contents, and code-driven upgrades are the line items most often missed in an initial estimate — and the ones a clean supplement recovers.
We're the licensed contractor, not the adjuster. Our job is to document the loss completely, build to the approved scope, and ensure the finished work matches what your policy covers.
Michigan homeowners have the legal right to select their own licensed contractor for any insurance-covered repair. Auto-Owners Insurance cannot require you to use a specific vendor or preferred network contractor. If you have a Auto-Owners Insurance homeowners policy and need fire damage repair, you choose who does the work — not your insurance company. Phase III holds Michigan Builders License #262000615 and carries full liability and workers' compensation coverage.
If your home is uninhabitable after a fire, Auto-Owners Insurance typically covers reasonable Additional Living Expenses (ALE) — temporary housing, meals above your normal cost, and related expenses — while repairs are underway. ALE is tracked and documented separately from the repair scope.
Structure (RCV): Most Auto-Owners Insurance policies pay the rebuild on a Replacement Cost Value basis, released in two stages — an initial Actual Cash Value payment, then the held depreciation once the work is complete and documented.
Contents: Smoke-damaged contents are usually settled separately, often depreciated first with recoverable depreciation released after they're cleaned, restored, or replaced and documented.
Phase III coordinates with Auto-Owners Insurance on the ALE timeline so your coverage isn't depleted before the rebuild is complete — a common problem on fire claims that drag.
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