We had a house fire, too. I’m sorry you’re going through this, it truly is very stressful.
min terms of insurance, it depend who you are with.
We are with Admiral, and within 24 hours of calling to let them know, our assessor called us. 3 days later they sent an independent company to us to assess the damage. They then firstly organised a cleaner (we had minimal fire damage, but top to bottom smoke damage), and accommodation for us while the house was being cleaned/stripped of carpets/floors etc. They took away all soft furnishing to clean, too.
They then took an inventory of the contents we lost to the fire and smoke damage. Anything that couldn’t be accounted for because it was destroyed was also added to the list. They took all the rubbish and destroyed/damaged goods to be disposed of. We were then sent the spreadsheet over to double check and put prices on the items. Our assessor at Admiral flagged up a few big things and needed receipts which we were able to provide as mostly all email receipts. They then took a percentage for wear and tear and we settled on that and 5 days later paid a lump sum into our bank.
In terms of re-building where the fire damage was, and decorating, carpets & floors replaced, we had to get 3 quotes for each. They then told us who we could go with and paid the money straight into our banks for that quote.
Timescales, the fire was on Christmas Day, cleaning was done and completed by 12th Jan. Inventory took a further ten days, another two weeks on top for the admin of checking, receipts etc. Quotes were given by mid-Feb and house was sparkling and new by the end of April.
One thing I will say is things don’t happen as quickly as you’d think/like.
Also, once our place was cleaned it was deemed habitable so we had to move back in and avoid fire damaged room, live with black walls, no carpet etc etc until it was all replaced.
It really was the most stressful time, and I wouldn’t wish it on my worst enemy. I’m really thinking of you and if you have any questions, please ask.