WHEN THE NEIGHBOR’S FIRE SPREADS TO YOU!

Posted by Tom Martino at 12:50 pm 78 Comments Print

Lynn is burned up!  Not literally but figuratively.  She’s angry because her neighbor’s kitchen grease fire spread over to her house and did some damage.  And to add insult to injury, the neighbor’s insurance company is refusing to cover Lynn’s damage.

It seems like a pretty cut and dry case.  The neighbor’s fire caused damage.  So why is State Farm Insurance (the neighbor’s insurance company) refusing to pay Lynn?

According to Lynn, they are not paying because the one who was actually doing the cooking was not a “named insured”.  He was the live-in boyfriend of the neighbor and not the homeowner.

My insurance expert (Brian Burns from Compass Insurance Group) says that is bull!  He says State Farm will have a tough time defending that position.  He says the homeowner (or insured) does not have to be the one to directly do the damage for it to be covered.  He reasons that kids and dogs are covered and they’re not “named”.  He says if the homeowner have people living with them, they will most likely be covered for the damage they cause.

Since Lynn doesn’t have a contract with State Farm, we recommend that she put in a claim with her own homeowners insurance.  Her insurance will then go after State Farm and when they collect Lynn will get her deductible back.

 

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