What to Do Immediately After an Accident in Your Home

So, say something big and bad happened in your home. A fire started, a pipe burst, or a volcano erupted nearby. The initial horror of the moment is over, anyone harmed has been delivered to the hospital and you’re met with the leftover issues. Now what?

Well, there are some things you need to handle before you can sit down and relax. First, take a deep breath, and we’ll tackle it all together. Take a look at our guide on what to do after an accident in your home.

Make the property safe

Chances are that if there was an accident in your home, then it was caused by something, and if it can happen once, it can happen again with nothing to mediate the situation.

For example, if the accident was that someone got a shock, that might be due to some exposed or gnawed away electric wiring. If it was a fall, was that due to a loose floorboard or a puddle or some other thing that could have been prevented.

Once the immediate danger is out of the way, you can look into preventing it in the future. Like, if it was burned, take a look at the area, and see how it can be prevented next time. Perhaps consider buying a fire gate for the fireplace to block access to the little ones or pets or have an extinguisher handy.

Of course, in some instances the damage will be too much for a quick fix, like flooding and large fires, which we will address further down.

Check your insurance

When you’re not in danger of getting harmed again, then it’s time to call your insurer. Your claims adjuster will look over what your policy smallprint says and see if you have rights to a claim. They will determine a potential settlement by looking at your medical bills, property damage and bodily injury etc.

Homeowners insurance will handle not only the damage to your home and external structures like garages and pools, but also the property within your home, liability, and crucially, medical bills. However, some circumstances aren’t covered, like flooding, earthquakes, mudslides and mold or rot that you might have had a reasonable time to fix or avoid. There are other exceptions to this list, so make sure to ask that the circumstances of your accident are covered before you move forward with a claim.

Find somewhere livable

If your home was hit with something big, like flooding, fires, earthquakes, tornados, etc. you might find that your home isn’t in a livable state anymore. It will need repaired, or possibly even rebuilt. The initial problem here is finding somewhere for you to live, and then you can concentrate on rebuilding and rejuvenating.

Check your insurance policy for loss of use, which means your insurer will have to put you up for a certain amount of time. Sometimes this is in a hotel room, and other times they might put you in an apartment. You might also be given an allowance to eat in space with no kitchen, like a hotel room.

If your insurance doesn’t cover this, you might need to call in a favor from a family member or friend in the meantime.

See about some childcare

If you have children, you will also need to think about their situation right now. Are you in any fit state to look after them after your accident? You might be spending weeks in the hospital, or more, depending on how badly you are injured. Plus, your home might not be safe, whether the accident was a small thing like a trip over a loose floorboard or as big as a flood.

Ask a trusted family member or friend to look after your children for the time being. You might be in no fit state to take care of them or might just need some help parenting. If the house is in a fit state, you can compromise by picking them up before bed and dropping them off in the morning while you repair – either yourself or the house.

If you are a single parent, you’re going to need the extra pair of hands, but even if you aren’t, you might need a little bit of help getting everything in order or taking some burden off so you can recuperate.