House Insurance Question

[Zee09]

I was talking about house insurance today and this came up for the sake of conversation only...i am insured..lol

My neighbors well insured house burns down and as a result it burns down mine as well but I don't have insurance and no mortgage...

What happens next?

 

[nomas]

I was talking about house insurance today and this came up for the sake of conversation only...i am insured..lol

My neighbors well insured house burns down and as a result it burns down mine as well but I don't have insurance and no mortgage...

What happens next?

Lawyers ..

 

[Duffyjr]

Don't expect them to pay with out a fight. More than likely you will have to take the insurance company to court and could take years to get any money if any at all. You may be out of luck because if you had insurance they would more than likely get involved and help fight them.

 

[skyactiv]

Lawyers ..

Lawyers can be be good people, my dad retired as one. Where do you think I get my positive attitude from!

 

[Silver]

I thought if someone else's catastrophe destroyed your properly it was pretty much given that their insurance had to cover it? Like if my tree falls on my neighbor's house... I mean if that's not the case I'm going to stop trimming ivy off the trunks of all those trees!

 

[The Critic]

I thought if someone else's catastrophe destroyed your properly it was pretty much given that their insurance had to cover it?

Well, that would depend if their policy had sufficient limits.

 

[Zee09]

It most likely varies by state too..

 

[Zee09]

If a commercial jet took out your house I get the feeling the airline would cover it???

 

[gman2304]

A brief Google search : Paraphrasing here, If you can prove your neighbor was negligent, your neighbors insurance pays you for damages. If your neighbors fire was started by say a lightning strike that set his house on fire then spread to your uninsured house then, you’re SOL.

 

[Duffyjr]

If a commercial jet took out your house I get the feeling the airline would cover it???

That's because they have a reputation to uphold, your neighbor, not so much.

 

[KJSmith]

Lawyers can be be good people, my dad retired as one. Where do you think I get my positive attitude from!

He didn't say they were good or bad.
That part is on you.

 

[levi]

Think it is common knowledge that you can always depend upon insurance companies to do the fair and equitable thing.

 

[92saturnsl2]

Probably depends on their policy limits.

The property/structure coverage I believe only covers the insured's home, as it's based on some calculated value to rebuild the house.

I assume liability insurance would kick in here? If so, there's a good chance it wouldn't make you whole, and then the lawyers get involved and it could be quite awhile... I think a common liability limit is $300k, and that's not enough to cover even the medium home price in the US right now.

 

[Zee09]

Probably depends on their policy limits.

The property/structure coverage I believe only covers the insured's home, as it's based on some calculated value to rebuild the house.

I assume liability insurance would kick in here? If so, there's a good chance it wouldn't make you whole, and then the lawyers get involved and it could be quite awhile... I think a common liability limit is $300k, and that's not enough to cover even the medium home price in the US right now.

Yup...i am thinking the same...

 

[RhondaHonda]

As gman2304 summarized, is how I’ve seen it play out in a past life. Someone’s car catches fire while parked next to other vehicles and damages them, each vehicle owner’s insurance paid to fix or replace their own car. Maybe they went after the manufacturer if there was a defect or recall but that was much further down the road and likely a dead end.

 

[SeaJay]

I was talking about house insurance today and this came up for the sake of conversation only...i am insured..lol

My neighbors well insured house burns down and as a result it burns down mine as well but I don't have insurance and no mortgage...

What happens next?

You can sue your neighbors for negligence if that was the cause of their fire and it can be proved. If that is the case, the liability portion of their homeowner's insurance (often has a $100k limit on liability payouts) or their umbrella insurance if they have that coverage will address your loss.

But otherwise, you are out of luck and now are the proud owner of a burned down house.

 

[Vil_Riker]

Out of luck unless the neighbor has the means to make you whole or has umbrella coverage.

 

[DwightFrye]

The OP those mentioned that he is insured but the advice given by others above is sound.

For those of you who have no mortgage and have no insurance, I'll give you an example of what can happen. Back in 2003 a wildfire swept though my neighborhood and destroyed over 300 homes. At the time homes in that area were typically in the $500k-$650k price range. There were quite a few homeowners who were retirees, had been the original owners of those homes that were built in the late 1970's, were on fixed incomes and since the mortgages were paid off had let the insurance lapse.

Guess what happened when they had nothing left but scorched rubble ? And they didn't even have insurance to clear the lot so that it could be sold and a new home built on it by someone who had the cash ?