AI Legalese Decoder: Your Key to Understanding Renters Insurance After a Nearby Building Fire
- May 5, 2024
- Posted by: legaleseblogger
- Category: Related News
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## Situation: Apartment Building Fire
### Description:
The apartment building right next to mine (we share a fence) went up in flames today. Everyone is okay. We were let back in but our apartment smells like smoke really bad.
### Concern:
I called my renters insurance, State Farm, and asked if we could get a hotel stay covered due to the smoke. She said we would have to pay, save the receipt, and check if we got reimbursed. Do you think this would be reimbursed?
### Financial Strain:
I am in a tight financial position right now and while I believe a hotel stay is necessary because it is already causing a massive headache and throat pain, I can’t risk losing around $200 (I live in a pricey Bay Area beach town).
## How AI Legalese Decoder Can Help:
AI Legalese Decoder can assist in understanding the terms and conditions of your renters insurance policy with State Farm. It can decode and simplify the complex legal language in your policy to help you determine if your hotel stay due to smoke damage is covered and if you are eligible for reimbursement. This tool can provide clarity and guidance in navigating insurance claims during this challenging time.
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****** just grabbed a
File a claim asap and check your policy. Literally, the exact same thing happened to me, and it was covered. Smoke damage is real, and it doesn’t go away easily.
If your policy can cover it, you can get everything professionally cleaned. I was told that I got lucky with my policy because the minimum charge for cleaning is expensive, but thankfully, I was covered. If your policy isnt as good, based on my experience with this, I would fight for as much as you can to be marked as a “total loss.” so you can get money back for your belongings. I would argue that anything with fabric is trashed and should be total loss. Soot is corrosive, so all eloctronics should be total loss as well. Do more research and see what else you can claim.
Just dont stop fighting with them and keep things over email so you have a paper trail. It will be worth the effort.
What’s your deductible?
This same situation happened to me a couple years ago. Keep a spreadsheet of all expenses you pay as a result of the fire. This includes the hotel, any damaged property due to smoke, gas from traveling the extra distance, etc. We kept an excel spreadsheet, took the time to look up all cost of replacement items along with links to the items online, along with pictures of recipts for hotel/travel. They did not even question any of our claims and gave us the maximum amount according to our property presented. The person on the other end doing the claim is human also, and this helped them immensely
I think this going to a longer, bigger thing than you think, but could you stay with a friend for one night while they investigate your coverage? As others say, the smell probably won’t just “go away”, so there will need to be cleaning. That will take some time, and cost money.
Call back and push them to open the claim, request additional living expenses, and request cleaning of your personal property/ contents.
One thing others haven’t mentioned is to talk to your building’s management as well. See if they are also filing a claim (presumably there will be some residual damage on the side of your building). Documentation that they are also filing a claim should pretty much guarantee your personal claim is also approved.
It is common that you have to pay yourself then be reimbursed. At least if you have documentation that your own building is filing a claim for smoke and fire damage that should be enough to ensure yours is covered.
So, a few things here:
1. You could potentially file a claim under the neighbor’s insurance. I’d recommend trying this rather than having a fire/smoke claim follow you around. You may get the runaround from them however. The reason for going theirs first is that insurance companies are doing a lot of belt tightening and any fire or water claims in the last 3 – 5 years which aren’t weather related gets a big red flag. This will all depend on the cause of the fire though. Was it happenstance (e.g., electrical short) or did the neighbor do something that started it (e.g., left the stove on)?
2. The Loss of Use is for *increased* cost of living when your home becomes uninhabitable due to a covered cause of loss. For example, let’s say it normally cost you $100/wk for food but now it cost you $150/wk because you’re eating out (no kitchen), then they’re only going to pay you the $50/wk difference.
3. No matter which way you go, through their insurance or yours, it’s probably going to come down to receipts and getting reimbursed for Loss of Use.
Oh, P.S., if you do go through your own insurance for this, expect to get a non-renewal notice when your renewal date comes around. State Farm is pretty picky and it’s pretty likely that they’ll drop you for a claim like this. They might not, but it wouldn’t surprise me.
“She said we would have to pay, save the receipt, and check if we got reimbursed.”
That sounds like good luck, Im on my lunch break after this phone call.
Not only keep every receipt but photograph every receipt clearly so they can be read. Your home may neeed some specialty cleaning. Your Insurance shoudl have your back, not just a “Go ahead, get a hotel and we will decide later if we reimburse you. What kind of answer is that? Id be standing on someone’s desk.
BTW, I too am in the Bay Area. So I get the whole cost issue.
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Sorry to hear about the situation. Even more sorry to hear that you have State Farm. SF and Allstate are two of the worst insurance companies when it comes to paying out claims. The two go hand in hand because they use the same consulting firm when training their claim specialists to find ways to deny claims. There have been numerous class action lawsuits against the two throughout the years claiming dishonest and unethical practices
I know this is maybe too late. But check with red cross. They usually show up ir available after emergencies like this and displacement. They likely helped those who apartment was in the fire, but may be able to help closer apartments as well if they are affected.
Does your insurance policy cover “loss of use”? (“Coverage D”?) Did you pay for that coverage? Look on your policy declarations page.
If it does, and probably even if it doesn’t, consider going ahead and finding a reasonable priced hotel or other situation (such as Airbnb) so you get out of that toxic fumes environment until it settles down and worst of it abates. Loss of use covers up to some $ limit, what it takes to live according to a similar environment as your home while it is unusable.
and see:
https://uphelp.org/claim-guidance-publications/renters-insurance-claim-tips-california
https://www.insurance.com/home-and-renters-insurance/loss-of-use-renters-insurance
I’ve read state farm is the worst. But look up for yourself
It should most likely be covered under loss of use, but good luck getting a penny from State Farm. Their whole business plan is to avoid paying anything, anyone, anytime, regardless of the situation. You’re going to have to fight tooth and nail to get anything covered. They’re betting on you getting exhausted/bored/frustrated and stop trying. Renters insurance in general in my experience has also been notorious for denying everything and making up obscure excuses to avoid payment.
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Had a fire in the neighboring building couldn’t stay in our apartment. State Farm covered -300(we paid them) of our 2000$ month long hotel stay. Ended up nearly 4k in the hole
We filled the claim hoping to get help but apparently “no one’s ever filed a claim” and “everyone’s new”. We only did the claim because we were told by our agent we “more than likely” would get everything covered and wouldn’t pay more then our deductible.
It would’ve been cheaper to not have insurance.
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