Lawyer in Chattanooga, TN or North GA, property damaged in fire insurance won't pay.?

Question

My neighbor was burning his ditch when it got out of control and burned about .5 of an acre of my land. It is overgrown with older hardwood trees, the chain-link fence is chared and I had an older model Pinto that was burned. My insurance company says they will not pay anything, neighbors fault his insurance company must pay. Well his insurance company says its only some trees get over it. What about the fence, it will likely rust now won't it? How do I go about getting restitution?

Answer 1

Unfortunately it looks like the claims adjustor for your neighbor's insurance is trying to give you the run around. I would document this loss--get an estimate as to the value of the trees, the cost to either re-paint or replace the fence and the actual cash value of the Pinto, pictures, etc. Send the adjustor a letter demanding payment in full along with copies of your documentation and send a copy to the Office of the Insurance Commissioner for your state and to your neighbor. The copy of the letter to the Insurance Commissioner should have a cover letter requesting their assistance in light of the fact that this adjustor is not treating you fairly. If you do not receive restitution within a specific amount of time, you can either retain the services of an attorney or consider representing yourself in small claims court if the amount of damages is below the maximum you are allowed to claim. If you file in Small Claims you would file the lawsuit against your neighbor who would then notify the insurance company. Unfortunately it has been my experience that some companies are banking on the "injured" party to get tired of the hassle and drop their claim.

In terms of your insurance company you would be entitled to make a claim under your homeowners insurance for the trees and the fence but the policy contains a very restrictive limit for damages for each tree so it is definitely better to go directly to your neighbor and their insurance policy. Also the Pinto would not be covered under your Homeowners Insurance, you would have to claim that under your automobile policy and it would only be covered if you have comprehensive coverage.

Good Luck!

Answer 2

You have two questions here. First, will your insurance company pay for this damage? This is totally unrelated to whether someone else is responsible, or if their insurance carrier has denied your claim. It only matters if you have purchased the coverage for the loss. I imagine that you didn't have comprehensive coverage for the older Pinto. If not, your company will not owe anything. In general there is limited coverage for trees on a homeowners policy. Your policy will specify what risks are covered, and for how much. If it doesn't say that it covers fire loss (which is probably the case), your company will not owe anything. As for the fence, how much charring is there? Is this something that a coat of paint will resolve? If so, it is most likely under your deductible. It doesn't sound like you should pursue your insurance company.

The second question is whether your neighbor's insurance company will pay for the damage. If he started the fire that got out of control and caused damage to your property that you couldn't prevent, it sounds like he might be liable. The question then becomes how much are your damages. I'm betting the Pinto was a total loss. Unless this vehicle was restored, any Pinto is a total loss. You need to have an repair estimate on the vehicle, and a current valuation of the vehicle. I'm betting it is only a couple hundred of dollars. (And if they give you the value of the vehicle, they get to take the salvage.) You need to get pictures of the trees that were burnt, and an estimate of cost to replace these trees. And an estimate to paint the fence.

Once you get these estimates, send copies to the neighbor's insurance company, and demand payment within 30 days. If they deny this, forward the matter to the state department of insurance. If they don't help you, you can consider taking them to small claims court. At this point you have to ask yourself if the matter is truly worth your time. (It may not be fair, but sometimes it is just better to cut your losses and walk away.)

As for getting a lawyer to take your case, it won't be worth it to them. They only take personal injury cases because they can take 1/3 of your settlement. Your case only sounds like a few hundred dollars. You will be lucky to find one that will accept the case for the total amount of the claim.

Answer 3

Do you have any FIRE insurance to cover your WOOD? Do you have FIRE coverage on your fence?? Or do you have fire insurance on the PINTO? If not, there's no coverage.

It's NOT the neighbor's fault, his policy is NOT going to pay. Have you ever heard of a block fire, like in cities, where the house where it started had to pay ALL the damages for ALL the houses? Nope, it doesn't work that way.

If you didn't have fire coverage for YOU, for your wood, for your fence, for your car, there will BE no restitution.

Go ahead and hire a lawyer - they'll charge you $250 an hour, in the locality where the fire happened. This will cost you thousands of dollars, and you'll go to court, and lose in court. and I'm sure the lawyer will tell you that, right up front. But it's your money - if you want to hire the lawyer, you can.

Otherwise, just pretend it was started by lightening, and there's no one to sue. And go buy insurance on the "trees" and the "fence" in case something else happens to it. Sure, it will cost you thousands. But you'll get restitution for the NEXT claim.

Answer 4

You have no grounds for restitution here, unless you can show that your trees were damaged, that your chain link fence WILL rust, and that there was value to the old Pinto.

Stop and think about it. Just HOW were you harmed monetarily ?

Answer 5

This is my specialty! Your neighbors insurance company must pay for the damages. Either consult an attorney or call me.

Answer 6

Sounds to me neighbors fire did you a favor. Except for char on chain link may have to be washed of with hose.