by Each year, across the entirety of the United States, there are more than 1.3 million fires that break out in commercial and residential properties, as reported by the United States Fire Administration. They were responsible for more than 3,500 fatalities, over 15,000 injuries, and almost $25 billion in property damage.
Because of their insurance coverage, the majority of homeowners and business owners are, thankfully, insured against the financial losses that might be caused by fires. In the wake of a fire, homeowners and business owners may often expect their insurance providers to pay to have their properties rebuilt.
Yet, there are a number of factors that lead insurance companies to reject fire claims. In the aftermath of a fire, these insurance providers will often launch an inquiry into the policyholder’s house fire insurance claim. Once the investigation is complete, the provider may decide to reject the claim, in which case you will need to consult a fire insurance claim attorney.
If you filed a fire claim with your insurance carrier and it was refused, the insurance company might have done so for any number of reasons. Read on to discover some of the possible explanations behind this.
1. They have a suspicion of arson
There are tens of thousands of fires that are started on purpose each year in the United States. If your homeowner’s insurance company has grounds to believe that arson may have been the cause of a fire that broke out in your residence, then they may choose not to pay out on your claim.
One of the primary reasons insurance companies do not pay out on fire claims is because of this. Those individuals who deliberately set fire to their own houses or companies in order to collect insurance money are met with particularly severe punishment.
In the event that you have just filed for bankruptcy or have been dealing with other kinds of financial difficulties, and then all of a sudden your house catches fire and burns to the ground, you can be certain that your insurance company will look at this with suspicion. If they believe that you were even somewhat responsible for the fire that occurred in your home, they will conduct a thorough inquiry and then refuse to compensate you in any way.
2. It Comes to Their Attention That You Have Been Working on Your House Without the Necessary Permits
When you decide to conduct work on your house, whether you do it yourself or hire a contractor, you are legally obligated to get the necessary permits for the job, regardless of who helps you do it. If you do not have the appropriate licenses, it is against the law for you to perform work in your own house.
If you are discovered carrying out work within your house without the appropriate permits, you might be subject to significant fines in addition to additional penalties. If you were working on your house without a permission when it caught fire, your insurance company has the right to refuse to pay out on the claim.
The process of obtaining permits for home renovation projects is perpetually a pain in the rear. If, however, your house ever catches fire while you’re working on it, you’ll be relieved that you went to the bother of renovating it because you’ll be pleased you did.
3. They have reason to believe that unlawful activities may have been taking place in your home
Dozens of fires are started each year as a direct result of the production of illicit drugs, and these flames originate all over the world. These fires are frequently caused by places that are commonly referred to as “meth laboratories.”
There is not the slightest possibility that an insurance company will pay up on a claim made by you if your house burns down solely because you were operating a drug production lab inside of it at the time of the blaze. It is quite possible that you will be arrested and have to pay for the damage caused by the fire that was sparked as a direct result of your activities.
It’s possible that consumers won’t agree with all of the arguments insurance companies give for denying claims related to fires. On this particular point, though, practically everyone will be in agreement.
4. They believe it is possible that you are exaggerating the value of everything in your home
As part of the process of filing a claim with your homeowner’s insurance carrier after a fire in your house, you will need to compile an inventory of everything that was contained within your home. You are also going to be responsible for determining an estimate of the worth of the items that were lost in the fire that occurred.
This can be quite challenging to do. Putting a price tag on items like televisions and other technological devices is already a challenge in and of itself. When trying to determine the value of family treasures, however, this task can become much more challenging.
If your insurance company feels that you could be inflating the price tags on any of your personal items in order to achieve a higher compensation, they could very well deny your claim for the simple reason that they believe you are doing so in an effort to earn a larger reward. When addressing this aspect of a claim, it is imperative that you provide the absolute truth whenever it is in your power to do so.
5. They’ve seen that you have a history of submitting claims for significant amounts of money related to fires
Have you ever made a claim on your insurance policy for damages caused by a fire? If you have, it could raise some eyebrows at your insurance company when they get your claim and find out you have a history of such behavior.
They could believe that you are attempting to trick them or take advantage of them in some way. In addition, it raises the possibility that they may examine your assertion in great detail and reject it for the most trivial of reasons.
If you have ever submitted a claim for a significant amount of money for insurance, you are going to need to make sure that you have your tale as straight as it is possible to get it. In such case, you can practically be certain that your insurance company would try to deny your claim and make an effort to push back on what they’ve said.
When filing a claim for fire insurance, it is usually always a good idea to have a fire insurance claim lawyer on your side. This is true regardless of the circumstances surrounding your claim. A legal practice such as Shochet Law Group may provide you with assistance in submitting a claim and will fight to ensure that you receive the compensation to which you are legally entitled.
These Are Only Some of the Many Reasons Why Insurance Companies Refuse to Pay Claims in the Event of a Fire
As you’ve seen in this article, there are a lot of different reasons why insurance companies refuse to pay out on fire claims. These businesses will investigate any possibility that may help them avoid forking out further funds than is strictly necessary.
When making a claim with your insurance carrier, you should do your best to avoid getting on their bad side by telling the truth as much as possible. Talk everything over with a lawyer so that you can boost the likelihood of your insurance company paying out on the claim you’ve submitted to them.
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