Please, I need your expert advice! I sold a home to clients, they spent 8 months remodeling, fire breaks out, their insurance co. will not forward money for necessities or even a rental, WHAT DO THEY DO??? IS THIS LEGAL???

I am not an expert but in my area one would seek help from family and friends first and then local agencies.  If there are no options with family and friends, call the Red Cross and other emergency agencies or even government agencies for help.  After they have secured temporary shelter and necessities, they can look into their options.  I know this won't help them now, but all insurance policies should contain a temporary housing clause.  I learned this in the 2004 hurricanes in Florida.  It is important for everyone to review their insurance policies.  I wish your friends the best of luck in sorting this all out.

I'm sure things will work out but how irritating for the family.  They should probably consult an attorney asap.

Sandy, well this is how insurance companies treat their so called clients. Come down South to where the Hurricanes hit in 2005. You will see how insurance companies will ruin you in a heart beat. If the insurance companies would have paid, as contracted. Then  FEMA and the goverment agencies would not been ask to step in with money. I hope your friends get quick answers. From my own experience their troubles have just started. God Speed. I am still fighting for money due as stated in my policy from cover damages.

Unfortunately, this is normal.  Many insurance companies will not pay out until suspicious circumstances are ruled out.  Contact the local Red Cross, the local churches any community organizations that help others out can assist with their dilemma.  

Terrible, when we had a power outage we had to get the repairs, save the receipts and submit them. Then they didn't cover everything, like TV's. There is always a clause in the policy that they cover their butts on. I'll take it as a loss on this years taxes. But, what a hassle. They also didn't cover interest on my card,waiting 5 months for the settlement to occur. Melissa Grant had a fire too, but they did put her in a hotel with her husband. It was over Christmas. 

Sandy, I am so sorry to hear about this. My family and I had a fire back in December and I just settled our claim. Here are some immediate steps :

Does their policy contain Additional Living Expenses ?

Do they have replacement cost or depreciation ?

As for arson...this should be a quick process, what the insurance company is waiting on is the fire Marshall to say the owners are not a direct cause, not even by negligence but by intentional.

I can tell you for me it seemed like eternity before I received anything. The first 3 weeks of the hotel were paid out of our pocket then later got reimbursed...I also placed several calls to the insurance commissioner. Eventually we received a check for my son's bedroom which was a total loss. All depreciated value. We also hired service master to come in to clean and remove other smoke damaged items ( I do NOT recommend service master ) 6 weeks later , still wasn't done and I ended up doing over half of it myself ! A fire feels like you have traveled from hell and back and then back to hell again...

There were a lot of things the Ins. company said they wouldn't pay for and didn't and I have an Attorney looking into those things. They need to save EVERY Receipt. For example, they wouldn't pay for the cloths I had to buy while the Cleaning Company took ours to determine what could be saved or not. We had only the cloths on our back..they said because we would keep the cloths we bought..they wouldn't pay for them...when I had to buy all new Christmas decorations, they said that wasn't considered additional living so I didn't get paid for that either....their are a lot of things I did get paid for that they wouldn't have offered had I not pulled out my policy and read it to them. This is something your friend really needs to do. Pull the policy out and know it inside and out ! It's powerful stuff !

Insurance Companies want to cover their tails period. They don't care how long you have paid or how great your payment history is. Please feel free to call me I am more than willing to help any way that I can. 931-210-8277 that is my direct cell.

 

Get an attorney.

Sandy,

How unfortunate!  I think contacting a local television station's consumer reporter would be an excellent idea to attract the attention of the insurer and others who can help. Remember the old adage: "the squeaky wheel gets the grease!".  Start "squeaking". 

Nice to know they have someone on their side who cares.

Good luck to all!