- Notify your employer and/or Social Security of your updated mailing address.
- Keep mortgage payments and homeowners insurance active and current. Do not let either lapse — this could complicate your claim significantly.
- Do NOT cancel electric or water service, even if they have been shut off. The accounts need to remain open for reconnection.
- Postal hold or change of address: usps.com/holdmail
- Cable, satellite TV, internet, garbage collection
- Auto-pay settings for any services you are no longer using
- Alarm service — keep this active if power remains on, to protect the property from unauthorized entry
- Identification: Driver's license, passport, Social Security card, Medicare/Medicaid card
- Vital records: Birth certificates, marriage certificate, military records, citizenship papers
- Financial: Bank account information, tax returns, insurance policies, vehicle titles, will
- Keep ALL original receipts and submit COPIES to insurance. Never submit originals — you need them.
In the early days after a fire, paperwork and receipts matter enormously. Keep originals whenever possible, submit copies, and save digital backups. A free scanning app on your phone (such as CamScanner) lets you photograph receipts and email them to yourself and others immediately — before anything gets lost.
- Use a free scanning app (CamScanner or your phone's built-in camera scanner) to photograph receipts, documents, and important paperwork immediately after locating them.
- Email scanned copies to yourself and at least one other trusted person so records are preserved in multiple locations.
- Photograph damaged areas and contents before anything is moved or disposed of — this documentation supports your contents claim.
- Do not share personal information over the phone with strangers or anyone claiming to be a "fake adjuster" or affiliated with your insurer unless you personally confirmed it with your adjuster first.
- Verify any charity or offer of help before giving information or money.
- If you did not request help, do not sign anything and do not engage — call your adjuster directly instead.
Read the full guide: Don't Get Scammed After a Fire →
IRS Tax Deductions- Save all inventory records and assigned values — casualty losses may be deductible.
- Refer to IRS Publications 2194, 547, and 584-B when reviewing casualty-loss tax issues.
- Consult a tax professional about the implications of your insurance settlement for the tax year of the loss.
Protect Your Records
In the early days after a fire, paperwork and receipts matter. Keep originals when possible, submit copies to insurance, and save digital backups. Do not throw anything away before documenting it — including items that appear destroyed. Your insurer and your contractor need this record.
Independent Policyholder Resource
United Policyholders is a nonprofit that advocates for insurance policyholders and provides free educational resources for people navigating property claims. We recommend their materials as an independent resource with no affiliation to our company.
United Policyholders — uphelp.org →