Three members of my extended family died in a house fire early Friday morning. Since then we had been swamped with the "details of death," including making arrangements, writing the funeral notices, comforting each other, and just trying to make sense of it all. For whatever reason, I am always the one of the family that handles the "details," but I don't know where to turn on this one ~ I feel like I'm stumbling in the dark and can't find my way no matter how hard I try! It looks like the house insurance had lapsed, but surely the family business that was attached to the house had to have been insured to maintain their business and health dept. certificates for the restaurant! The problem is that all was lost in the fire, so I have no policies/paperwork to go on. Even their cars were destroyed so no policy info there either. I just don't know where to start to figure out 1) If they were insured, and 2) with who?

Plus, the city has given us one week to clean the site (remove all debris). This is a tiny town of 1,500 people and only a few businesses. Who does that stuff? Do I rent a Bobcat of what? Is there a permit required? I'm online now just trying to find answers, and have some feelers out to a few people I know, but since it's the weekend I just can't get any answers! I just want to take care of as much of this as possible so the rest of my family doesn't have to worry about it. Any ideas or advice, and your prayers, would be greatly appreciated.

AWWWW!!! OMGOSH!!! I'm SOOOO sorry!!! You have my TOTAL and COMPLETE attention right now hun.... I'm sooooo sorry!!! You and your family are TOTALLY 110% in my prayers.....If you need anyone to talk to.....just message me ANYTIME!!! And again....I'm SOOOO sorry for your loss....I really am.....

When my exes house burnt he called a demolition company to remove the debris.As for the insurance I would call whoever regulates restaurants in your town or state and see if they have a policy or insurance company on record.Also call all the local agents to see if they have the account.I do believe you need insurance on a business for liability sake so some government agency has that info.
As for the family,you have my condolences and prayers at this sad time.

I'm so sorry for your loss and all that is left for you to deal with now.
My only suggestion would be to contact the bank that they used... maybe they could look up cancelled checks or payments to insurance companies? That might give you a start...

Thank you for your kindness and advise. They did own another business in town that was not impacted by the fire. I plan to go there after a day or two after the service and see if I can find any paperwork. I'm thinking both businesses might be insured with the same company...I hope! I just know they kept all their files at the restaurant site since it was their primary business and residence. If I can just handle this it will ease the minds of their Mom and Dad, and the rest of the family who need time to recover instead of worrying about removing what is left of the life they built together. I just feel so helpless, and wish I could do more to ease my family's pain. It won't heal the pain, but if I can handle some of these details it would not prolong the pain either! I hope...

Also I would maybe contact the red cross. They have a lot of experience in dealing with this. They might be able to give you some guidance.

The courthouse should also have records of permits for the business and they should have the insurance info on them - check public records too

So sorry for your loss.

So sorry for you loss. My thoughts and prayers are with you.

Thank you all so much.

I guess I'll have to wait until tomorrow to check with the bank and court house, but that does help. I was hoping there was a national insurance database that you could enter an address into to locate a policy or at least a provider. No luck on that one though! I'm working on the slideshow for the memorial service, trying to get pics from other family members and pull them off my PC, since many were destroyed.

I did get to the bank yesterday to set up a fund for the benefit dinner the community is hosting. I have found that during the darkest moments of life, the true nature of people is revealed. The entire community has been so wonderful and supportive, and people have been so very kind. For that, I am truly thankful.

Digging into peoples past financial records is part of my job. Your state health department probably regulates the restaurant and there is a state Insurance Commission who might be of some assistance. I haven't asked them about that, but it won't hurt. Bank records might be the best because there are usually payments. One thing I would advise if the bank records show an old policy, check with the insurance commission to see if the company has been acquired by another. And, if your relatives were fairly aged, say 60 to 65 or older, they may have paid a life policy off many years ago, so you may have to dig deep.
On the off chance that your relatives may have been on some kind of public assistance, check with your state social service's office. The chances are better of getting information from them is if it has been within the last 5 to 10 years. I think the fact they are deceased will trump the privacy act, but that may be a problem you will have to overcome. I suggest you push if you get opposition.
Of course the obvious is to ask the close relatives for information. Don't expect them to volunteer information unless asked. Make a list of the things you think you need to know and specifically ask those questions. That applies to anyone you talk to. Keep the answers organized so you keep them straight.
Good luck, I hope that helps. I'm the one that has to know all in my family, too! It was good job training!

I don't know if it matters or not, but I think this is the fire that JB (a member on this site) witnessed across the street from her house.

I am very sorry for your loss.

Thank you, Noblenan! They were young, mid-forties, early fifties,and their son was only 17, and the businesses were fairly new too, but the Insurance Commission is a great place to check.

I am keeping track of everything so I can help my family sort things out. I want to make it as easy as possible for all of us to work through this. I lost my Grandma last Spring and was the Executor of her estate so I've done some of this before.

Death is never easy, especially a tragedy like this, but facing the "business" side of it is too much for some and only adds to the pain. If I can help minimize that, I plan to.

Again, thank you for your advise, and your prayers.

Thank you for telling me. I just read her post - very painful to see the photo. By the time we got there all that was left was the chimney and the ashes of what was a beautiful life for that little family.

In the small towns here were I live..there is a town burough...they keep track of all permits,who lives were, etc.

I lived in a town of just under 1000 ppl.There were water bills to be paid etc.So if you have the same there.They may have checking account info,insurance info etc.

I am sorry for your loss....

I wish you the best of luck with your own life as this is a lot to have to take on...

Make sure you also find some time for u also....

Thank you, Zanne. I'm back in Denver today, trying to get things set here so I can head back tomorrow, and for the rest of the week. Certainly not the Thanksgiving we imagined.

I have a friend at FEMA that directed me to a helpful site that I think everyone should be aware of, as preventive and, God forbid, after a fire. If anyone needs it, it's at: http://www.usfa.dhs.gov/citizens/all_citizens/atf/


I've printed a ton of stuff and plan to sort through it the next couple of days. I know the guy that the CBI that assigned the investigator, so he thought they could help me figure out some of the clean up stuff. That helps.

I'm not good at asking for help, but people have been stepping up to offer assistance and it means so much to me and the entire family. I just wish I could do more...

Again, thank you for the advise and support. If the link above helps another family avoid, or get through something like this, I'm glad. I'm hoping it will help our family in the days to come.

It seems particularly rough to only have one week to clean up all the debris. Maybe that's for health and safety reasons? Still, that's so much for the family to deal with. I would think whoever gave you that notice would have some suggestions on how to clean it up. Just a thought.

They may have had Medicaid for the son. The records probably wouldn't be as good as if they had other assistance. I think your best source is going to be the bank records. Good luck!

So sorry for your loss

You might need to find out who is executor of their estate. You will need to prove a legal right to the info. you seek from the bank & ins. companies.

Heck of a mess to handle, even when you know it is coming.

Your's is much worse than what I went thru.

Wow I'm lost for words my heart goes out to you and your family. That is such a tragic lost all at one time. May you and your family find the peace within that is needed.


If I understand you correctly did they own a restaurant in town? Did they have any sort of and office at all within the restaurant where they might have put some of the paper work? Did they in fact have a safety deposit Box at the Bank? Check those options.

As far as it being a small town contact you local insurance company's one of them most likely handled all their insurance through the same one. Most likely anyone of them will know who in fact had their business insurance for most usually tries to out do the next one in biding for the policy's.