Posted: Mon Dec 24, 2007 12:30 am Post subject: So what defines an "Act of God"?
I've heard that certain kinds of insurance can be nullified by things called an Act of God. Now I doubt that it means that the Almighty himself decides to come down to Earth so that he can make an example out of you, so what does it mean in a legal sense?
Also, what Acts of God are usually covered by insurance? _________________ I have a new personal crusade. I'm going to hunt down the people who have strong opinions on subjects they don't understand. Then I'll bop them with this cardboard tube.- Dogbert
I ain't a legal expert, take what I say with a grain of salt.
Great question Quenlin, can't wait to see the responses to this post, LOL, should be interesting. I can tell you what I think it means, I think they mean like a tree falling on your car, a flash flood, something unexpected and usually not covered by your insurance. I am sure some one will come along shortly and correct my definition, but I did say, what I think it means. so be nice.
an overwhelming event caused exclusively by forces of nature, without the possibility of prevention and without intervention by any human agency; examples are earthquakes, floods, and tornadoes - Also termed act of nature."
Again according to Law.com..,Act of God is
Quote:
n. a natural catastrophe which no one can prevent.. such as
Normally the standard home owners insurance covers "natural disaster". Such disasters are probably said to be standard disasters. The standard home owners policy or ho1 and also the ho3 http://www.ampminsure.org/home-insurance.html covers the natural disasters caused to your home.
Whether the phrase"act of god" is introduced in your agreement, solely depends on the clauses of your policy.
However, it has been assessed, if the insurance companies use the phrase"Act of God" it leads to complications. At the time of claims, the insurance companies tend to make you complicated regarding the components of the "act of god".This lead to a controversy, as to what comes under the "act of god" in true sense? This they do mainly to deny your claims.
If your insurance agreement does not clearly state as to what comprise of "act of god" then you are at a risk in making the insurance claims.
The insurance company can easily deny that the storm is not an act of God if you are claiming a reimbursement for any damage owing to storm. Such disputes are very common in the insurance industry.
To play safe, thereby,you should always understand and
1.check out if your insurance policy covers"act of god".
2.Check out if the phrase"acts of god", is used in the agreement.
3.If at all the phrase is used, then confirm if the agreement clearly states what the phrase actually means or covers.
Thanks Sil, makes sense. Act of God is anything that we can't do anything about, only prepare for, thanks.
I guess you need to be quite specific on these kind of things, I'll keep in mind to get what is defined as an Act of God in writing, and signed as well.
Thanks again for the info. _________________ I have a new personal crusade. I'm going to hunt down the people who have strong opinions on subjects they don't understand. Then I'll bop them with this cardboard tube.- Dogbert
I ain't a legal expert, take what I say with a grain of salt.
‘Act of God' refers to the catastrophes, caused by the natural forces and is completely devoid of any human involvement, i.e. no one can be blamed individually for the losses caused. It is phrased like that because human efforts can't avoid or control its occurrence.
Standard homeowners policy covers you from events like-fire, storm, lightning which they term as “Acts of God' but on the other hand, they don't cover events like-flood and earthquake, are not covered by the standard policy. Therefore, the definition of “Act of God' is pretty tricky.
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Great answers (and question) guys! Most policys have removed the term ''act of God'' however it is loosley defined as you have indicated by anything really that is nature driven...and most policys cover such things...auto policys (if you have comprehensive coverage) cover, hail, lightening, falling objects and flood among many... Homeowners policys have specfic perils and some of them are acts of God, like hail, wind, falling object...but unless it is a named peril it's not covered...specifically flood and earthquake insurance have to be purchased separately to have coverage for these perils (I'm not sure about areas that are earthquake ''prone'' ie CA, it may be a named peril in those states). I personally have carried earthquake coverage for 20 years or better...(I'm in MO)....and that coverage also carries a percent deductible rather than a stated one...and of course we all know that flood insurance must be purchased as a separate policy.
Wow, I knew this post would get some really good responses, Nice to know that they took the verbage out of insurance policies, that was like a catch all to we are not paying you.
