Can Insurance Co Sue My Tenant For Fire Damage?
Posted by adminMay 31
i have insurance in indiana. if the investigator finds my tenant is negligent for fire damage - can company sue them??
what is this process?
please - only people that have this experience need reply.
thanks!!
Sure they can. Are they likely to? No.
First, they’d establish the cause of the fire, then they’d look at how legally liable they are for the cause. Then, they look at your lease or rental contract, to see if there’s a mutual hold harmless agreement there. Then, they’ll look at assets or insurance that the tenant has, that could possible pay.
95% of the time, it’s pointless to sue a tenant, as they generally tend to be judgement-proof.
Other posters are correct. If there is a fire loss, first your insurer will cover you for that loss. Beyond that, if the investigation of the fire (any goodly sized fire is investigated by fire marshals) determines that the cause of the blaze was negligence on the part of one tenant (cigarette on sofa or similar), your insurer will attempt to collect from the tenant, since the actual cause of the fire was the tenant, and not an issue with your building (such as faulty electrical or similar).
Doesn’t take legal expertise to tell you that anyone can sue you or anyone else for anything and at anytime. Whether they will prevail is a wholly separate question. I hope you took out landlord insurance otherwise you may be committing fraud against your insurance company and they could have legitimate reasons to deny your claim.
Thanks for the thumbs down. Sorry to burst your bubble with the truth. Being a landlord is expensive.
The insurance company has the right to collect from the negligent party on your behalf if they paid a covered loss. They will also attempt to recover your deductible. This is written in the policy language. So, if the damage is a good amount (they may not bother for a few thousand, depending on the company), I am sure they will go after your tenant.
I had a claim where the son (tenant) in his mother’s building (she didn’t live there & her business was on the first floor) accidentally caused a $300,000 (approx) fire loss. The mother’s company paid the loss. Luckily he had a tenants policy & his tenants policy paid the mother’s insurance company back.
This is one of the reasons why many landlords are now requiring the tenants to have tenants insurance (with $500,000 liability), written right into the lease. Most tenants policies are $100-$150 per year depending where you live so well worth the cost.
I do know of a case here in Washington state where the sister of the homeowner was sued by the insurance company when the house caught fire from what the insurance company deemed negligence on the part of the home owner’s sister