Fire from neighbor's land

[bcp]

Whether a fire spreading in bad weather is considered an **"act of God"** by insurance companies depends on the specific circumstances, the terms of your insurance policy, and local laws. Here's a breakdown of what you need to know:

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The Man Who Sued God - Wikipedia

en.wikipedia.org

Bruce

 

[BnRidge]

For a while the neighborhood here was newly populated with "it's my property I'll do what I want" types. Mostly millennials expecting what they grew up with, wherever that was, except now with 7 neighbors instead of none. That was 12yrs ago. Time catches up. Now after getting their butt handed to them a dozen times they're tired and falling in line like everyone else. How many mishaps did it take to get there. This one ended up ok, even though it was 80ft from my house. Other buildings and properties didn't fare so well.
Consider the source. Most neighbors here would jump at the chance to do right or make it right. A few would relish costing you if they could. I'm just glad I didn't have to play hardball.

 

[paulsharvey]

I had a "friend"ish who's sons were in scouts with my son. The oldest of her boys had started 3 fires on vacant properties. I believe the first two, they basically wrote off as kids doing kids stuff. The 3rd one, they hit them with like a $1,500 bill for the forestry dozer. Now, to the best of my knowledge, there wasn't a structure involved. I think he just liked setting fires. It wasn't really trying to cause harm, but it wasn't an accident either, he just liked burning stuff. He also was a minor, but they didn't charge him criminally

 

[KennyG]

I always get a burn permit before I burn anything. In our area, you can do it on line in a couple of minutes. If a fire gets out of control and you have a permit, it's just bad luck. If you don't have a permit, it's on you.

 

[airbiscuit]

Whether
The neighbor steps up
Insurance gets involved
Attorneys get involved

The OP should itemize for themselves the nature/value of his loss so he knows what a fair settlement would look like.

 

[paulsharvey]

Yard waste does not here, but land clearing does.

Also note, the neighbor in the OPs scenario wasn't burning debris, he apparently was using a weed torch on grass in a driveway, and probably an ember jumped. Initially, the OP thought there was a burn ban, but about 3/4 of the way through, he said there was not a burn ban.

Now, not on topic, but I'll never understood people's obsession with keeping grass/vegetation out of a driveway (except concrete/asphalt and it growing in joints/cracks).

 

[paulsharvey]

Whether
The neighbor steps up
Insurance gets involved
Attorneys get involved

The OP should itemize for themselves the nature/value of his loss so he knows what a fair settlement would look like.

Yes, 100%. Also, be realistic on values. Don't know in this specific case, but inflating values above realistic numbers, in some cases, can be a total defense. IE, that old mobile home might be $2,500-10,000, but its likely not $50,000. Old building materials, or tools, aren't going to value out as brand new snap-on truck prices, a 10 year old riding mower shouldnt pay for a new one, ect

Also, the old mobile home likely turned from a small-medium asset, into a small liability; let's say it was worth $5,000; now, its going to cost $2,500 to clean up, for a total value loss of $7,500.

 

[woody]

Lots of good comments here and I'll address some, on the television they were saying not to burn and there were some wild fires a few counties from us, now I know the forestry commision had a red flag warning. In my mind that would still cause me not to burn. I have a company working me up an estimate for clean up and fixing the road they dug 1 foot deep holes in (operator error) carrying the dozer blade to low going from one area to another. As far as the trailer I can't replace it for 5K but I am not looking to rip anyone off. My son started cleaning up the trailer but has not gotten very far and now we bad weather coming through so I'm not in a hurry.

 

[paulsharvey]

I think you are on the right track, and maybe send him a certified letter requesting his insurance info. I'm sure there is a way to look that up online, but I don't know how. Some of our smarter folks here may know a way to get that info, to start a claim against his? I did miss when you said earlier that you did not have insurance, and I had just assumed you did, and then your Ins guy would likely contact his Ins guy.

 

[ultrarunner]

I’m finding more property owners without insurance because they can’t get it for a price that is affordable…

At the farm the old 1850 barn and a small 2 stall barn are excluded from the farm policy… it was cost prohibitive to include whereas the modern outbuildings, home and equipment are insured.

 

[airbiscuit]

I'll say it again. The trailer was providing xxx square feet of storage. The minimum value would be the cost of the same xxx square feet pole building (unless the trailer was only minimally damaged)

 

[paulsharvey]

I'll say it again. The trailer was providing xxx square feet of storage. The minimum value would be the cost of the same xxx square feet pole building (unless the trailer was only minimally damaged)

That's replacement vs depreciated value. Highly doubt he can expect to get replacement value, but as someone mentioned, if he can get say, a 24x48 pole barn kit worth of money, I'd consider that a win. I could be wrong, and maybe the insurance will offer more? Sometimes they do put pretty decent values on out buildings, but I would assume they start at tax appraised value of the structure

 

[MapleLeafFarmer]

My policies are replacement cost for fire/theft/vandalize.
Its what I pay for so it is what I would expect to receive.

If your are depreciated value or other terms than that's what I would expect my neighbour to cover from accidental damage.

 

[4570Man]

A pole building is the cheapest amount it would take to replace the storage function of xxx square feet. The replacement value of the trailer would be much higher.

Sure it would be but the trailer was uninhabitable. I’d be more interested in collecting cleanup cost of the rest of the trailer and the damage done by the state dozers.

 

[airbiscuit]

Both,And