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Will insurance companies pay for damages caused by an Act of God?

If my home is damaged due to a fire caused by our neighbor, do I have to pay for my own damages?

  • Our neighbor, in a drunken stupor, caught his house on fire with a cigarette. Neither he or his wife bothered to call 911 and as a result their house was pretty much gutted. My problem is that because of this, the side of our house also caught on fire. All of the siding was melted off and it charred some of the boards and roofing and broke all the windows on that side. We also have some water damage in one room. Our homeowners insurance wants us to pay the deductible and cover the "depreciated value" of materials. Our adjuster's thought is that if a tree fell on our house, we would be required to pay those portions. My response to that is a tree falling on our home is considered an act of God. This fire was caused by the idiot next door. Do we really have to pay the difference? It doesn't seem right to me that our neighbors are somehow making a profit on their loss (her words, not mine) and yet we have to take a loss for something that they caused. I don't want to have to sue the neighbors for the difference because quite frankly, he's a bit of a psychopath. Not to mention, we would have a judgment, but we would never see a penny of it.

  • Answer:

    Insurance in this kind of case is funny - not funny ha, ha - funny weird. From your description of the fire incident, your neighbor could be determined negligent in the fire. If this is the case, your neighbor's insurance could pay for the damage under the Liability Section. Unfortunately, that insurance company will fight the claim. Your insurance company should be willing to pursue the difference in coverage from the neighbor's insurance company. This is all based on the presumption that your neighbor has insurance - the minimum liability coverage should be $100,000. If your insurance company will not pursue the deductible costs from your neighbor's carrier, you may be forced to pursue the matter in court. As I said above, there should be at least $100,000 liability available in your neighbor's policy. With the negligence issue and the threat of civil action, your neighbor's insurance company will probably pay.

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Certainly sounds like your neighbor's actions fit the definition of negligence (both the setting his house on fire bit and the not calling 911 bit). You may want to consult a lawyer first and see what they have to say.

Gambit

Any time you file a claim on your homeowners policy, you pay a deductible. I serously doubt the neighbors are making a profit on their loss. When you file the claim with your homeowners, your insurance company is automatically given the right to sue the guy who burned down his house and refused to call 911. They might even win. IF they have insurance, their insurance would pay any judgement, including your deductible, and your deductible would be reimbursed. This process can take a LONG time. My insurance is subrogating something that a neighbor did two years ago, and it hasn't gone to court yet.

mbrcatz

No doubt this is an unfortunate situation and whoever gave Caveat Emptor a thumbs down does not know what they are talking about because he/she is pretty much right on. If you turn in a claim to YOUR homeowners policy you would have to pay the deductible. The circumstances of who did it simply does not matter. In this case if you do turn in a claim under your own policy and given the situation if your company feels the neighbor is at fault they will subrogate or sue their insurance company (they won't sue him they sue his insurance company). This is likely the best way to resolve the situation. You have insurance for a reason, was it your fault your house got damaged? No, not the way you described it, but don't let that stop you from using the insurance you purchased to protect your own home. If you don't want to make a claim on your policy you have to take him to court or sue him personally. I'd say that's pretty much your options

Robbie

Your insurance pays according to your policy - period. The adjuster's "thought" or analogy is irrelevant. Yes, you can sue your neighbor but, as you say, that doesn't guarantee collecting anything. No, it isn't "right" - in a perfect world. Unfortunately, a perfect world does not exist.

Woof

Your insurance company is correct that they do not have to pay more for your neighbor's act than for an act of God. Actually, your insurance company should pay nothing out of their own pocket for this; they should sue your neighbor themselves. If you want to receive more than you would from an act of God, either sue your neighbor or convince your neighbor's insurance company to pay you. (If you have a strong case against your neighbor and your neighbor's insurance company does not know that you are unwilling to sue, they might agree to pay something to keep you from suing.) If you did sue and win, and your neighbor had insurance, you probably would see money, because homeowner's insurance covers some types of judgments.

StephenWeinstein

Yes. You want to collect your out of pocket, sue.

Chas

You would have to prove that it was negligence that caused your damage to get money out of him. "Drunken stupor" is your opinion and if you don't want to sue because he's psycho then just thank goodness you have insurance. You'd only be suing for the amount of money you're out and you have to ask whether it's worth the time, effort, and bad neighborly relations. You may want to talk to them to see if they'd be willing to share some of the costs if you feeling strongly enough about it...especially if they're profiting and you're losing.

Insurance Pickle.com

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