If a fire is started

by glwilliams58 » Sun May 18, 2008 09:48 pm

If a fire is started by a kid playing with fire crackers and it destroys the neighbors house, will the insurance company cover the damages? If there is a fence that was destroyed, a driveway damaged by a bulldozer and the six fire trucks, 2 acres of burnt woods that needs to be cleared then replanted and receeded, will this be covered as well? Thanks for your help.

Total Comments: 5

Posted: Mon May 19, 2008 01:00 am Post Subject:

Who's insurance are you speaking of?

The property liability carrier for the child? Yes, they would cover the damages up to the policy limits. Most likely though, there would be a limits issue.

Posted: Mon May 19, 2008 01:17 am Post Subject:

There are two properties involved, and two kids that were lighting the fireworks. The fire started on my property and traveled to my neigbor's. Of the two kids that were involved, my son was one of them. Once we measured the extent of the damage, we realized it was much more than we expected and are now considering filing a claim with our insurance company. We have a homeowners policy and we have an umbrella policy. So I have two questions. Will the insurance company look at the act that caused the fire and say it is not covered, i.e. lighting fireworks? And if they do cover it, will they cover the neighbors property and the damage to the driveway and street caused by the fire trucks and bulldozer? I am hesitant to call them, because of the fire works issue. The boys are both 14.

Thanks for your quick reply.

Posted: Mon May 19, 2008 10:16 am Post Subject:

So I have two questions. Will the insurance company look at the act that caused the fire and say it is not covered, i.e. lighting fireworks?

I doubt it will be denied, I have handled (about ten years ago) a claim EXACTLY (on the surface) like this...and there was coverage under the childrens parents home owners policys (liability)...I don't recall the kids ages exactly but think they too were in their early teen..

And if they do cover it, will they cover the neighbors property and the damage to the driveway and street caused by the fire trucks and bulldozer? I am hesitant to call them, because of the fire works issue. The boys are both 14.

The damage to your home will be covered under the peril of fire, it wasn't arson so there shouldn't be an issue there and it will be paid under whichever dwelling/personal property/apert.structure...the damage to the neighbors will be under your liablity and the other childs...if the investigation reveals (for instance) that the boys were equally at fault then each of your carriers will pay 50% of the damage under your liablity..You more than likley have a min. of 100k liablity (I've never seen an HO policy with less)...Don't be hesistant, get this claim turned in asap! There will be wording in your policy that says you must PROMPTYLY report all claims! You don't want to run the risk of a denial for a late report (seldom happens but it can!) CALL IN THE CLAIM NOW!

Posted: Mon May 19, 2008 01:27 pm Post Subject:

As Lori mentioned, if you are going to turn in a claim, do it right away. This is especially important on the liability claim. Something to keep in mind... your liability policy would pay the actual cash value of the other peoples losses. Most likely their own policies would pay replacement cost and then seek recovery from yours for actual cash value. So the other parties with damage _may_ want to file under their own policies initially.

Posted: Sun May 25, 2008 06:36 pm Post Subject: hmm..

As the fact is clear, I agree with you all and it should be from both the parties under mutual understanding. I am also having this doubt, thanks for the post

Add your comment

Image CAPTCHA
Enter the characters shown in the image.