How does a fire insurance claim work in Ontario?
You report the fire to your insurer and get a claim number, and the house is secured the same day. An adjuster, who works for the insurer, inspects the loss and agrees a scope of work and a price. Your restoration contractor documents the damage, does the cleanup and the rebuild to that scope, and bills against it. The insurer pays what your policy covers, less your deductible. Contents and living expenses are separate parts of the same claim.
A fire claim runs on two tracks at the same time. Your insurer decides what is covered and agrees the price through an adjuster. Your restoration contractor secures the house, documents the damage, cleans and dries it, and rebuilds. The claim goes fastest when the two work from the same evidence: photos, moisture readings and an itemized scope.
The first 24 hours
- Make sure everyone is safe. Do not go back inside until the fire department says the building can be entered.
- Call your insurer. Use the claims line on your policy. Write down the claim number and the adjuster’s name when you get them.
- Secure the property. Openings are boarded up and damaged roofs tarped the same day. Insurers expect you to take reasonable steps to prevent further damage, and an open house invites weather, theft and liability. Board-up is part of the claim.
- Photograph everything before anything is moved or thrown out: every room, inside cupboards, the outside of the house. Smoke damage in rooms far from the fire is easy to overlook and expensive to prove later.
- Keep receipts for anything you spend: a hotel, meals, clothes, toiletries. Most policies cover additional living expenses.
Do not start throwing out damaged contents to “clean up”. The adjuster may want to see them, and they belong on the contents list.
Who does what
| Your insurer and adjuster | Your restoration contractor | |
|---|---|---|
| Decides | What the policy covers, and the agreed price | How the work is done, in what order |
| Documents | The cause and the claim | The damage: photos, readings, itemized scope |
| Pays | The agreed scope, less your deductible | Nothing; bills against the agreed scope |
| Your role | Report the loss, list contents, approve the scope | Choose the contractor, approve upgrades |
Two points that surprise people. First, you choose the contractor, even if your insurer suggests one. Second, the adjuster works for the insurer. Most adjusters are fair, but the evidence that the scope is complete has to come from your side, which in practice means from your contractor.
What a fire claim usually covers
On a standard Ontario homeowner policy, fire is a covered peril. A claim typically includes:
- The building: structure, finishes, wiring and plumbing damaged by fire, heat, smoke or soot.
- Water damage from firefighting. The water used to put the fire out is part of the fire loss. Wet cavities left undried grow mould within days, so drying starts alongside the soot work.
- Smoke damage in rooms the fire never reached. Smoke travels through ducts, wall cavities and ceiling spaces.
- Contents: furniture, clothing, electronics and belongings, up to the policy limit.
- Additional living expenses while the home is unliveable.
Your own policy decides the limits, the deductible and any exclusions. Ask your adjuster for the coverage summary in writing early on.
What decides how much a fire claim pays
There is no typical payout for a house fire. Every claim is priced from your own policy and your own damage, and four things decide it:
- Your policy limits. The policy sets a maximum for the building, a separate one for contents, and usually a limit for additional living expenses. Each part of the claim stops at its limit. The limits are on your declarations page.
- Replacement cost or actual cash value. Replacement cost pays to repair or replace with materials of like kind and quality at today’s prices. Actual cash value takes off depreciation for age and wear, so it pays less for the same damage. On many policies, replacement cost is only paid once the repair or replacement is done, and actual cash value is paid until then.
- The adjuster’s scope. The agreed scope is the list of work the claim pays for. Anything left off it, such as smoke damage in rooms the fire never reached, is not paid unless it is added with evidence.
- Your deductible, which comes off the agreed amount.
That is why we never quote what a claim will pay. Your policy wording and the agreed scope decide it, and your adjuster can explain how both apply to your loss.
How the scope gets agreed
After the emergency work, your contractor walks every room and produces an itemized scope: what has to be removed, what can be cleaned, what has to be dried and what has to be rebuilt. The adjuster prepares or reviews their own. The two are compared, and differences are settled with evidence.
Items that most often go missing from a first scope:
- Smoke and soot in closed cupboards, attics and ductwork
- Wet insulation and drywall inside walls, found only with a moisture meter
- Odour treatment and sealing of framing before walls are closed
- Electrical inspection where wiring was exposed to heat or water
- Contents cleaning and pack-out, which is separate from the building claim
Mistakes that cost money
- Waiting for the claim to settle before cleaning up. Soot is acidic and etches glass, metal and finishes within days, and wet materials grow mould. Delay makes the damage, and the claim, bigger.
- Painting over smoke damage. Odour comes back through paint on the first humid day.
- Signing a scope you have not read line by line. Once the work is priced, adding missed items is harder.
- Mixing upgrades into the claim. Keep the insured repair and your upgrades priced separately so the claim stays clean.
How YAREX works with your insurer
We board up and tarp on the day of the call, then photograph and document the damage to adjuster standards and produce an itemized scope. We meet the adjuster on site when that helps, and we can bill the insurer directly. Because YAREX is also a renovation contractor, the rebuild stays with the same company that did the cleanup, with no gap between a mitigation firm and a builder.
See how our fire and smoke damage restoration runs, or call (343) 947-2298 for help anywhere in Etobicoke, Mississauga, Brampton, Toronto and the GTA. If the fire department’s water reached the basement, read what to do about water damage too.
Published October 26, 2026.
The service behind this guide
YAREX Renovation & Restoration provides emergency fire and smoke damage restoration across Toronto and the GTA from Etobicoke.
Fire & Smoke Restoration in Toronto & Etobicoke
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