[OP]
Member
Say your car gets flooded and starts floating into the neighbors car or your roof blows off your house and ends up in the neighbors living room. Obviously your car is done for and you need a new roof among many other things, but are you responsible for the damage your roof did to the neighbors house?
Contributor
I think that falls under "AN Act of God." No insurance company covers AOG's.
Member
One could argue that if the wind removed your roof, it wasn't fastened properly to the top plates of the walls. If the neighbors roof couldn't support the additional load of your roof, his wasn't built strong enough.
This is a bit tongue in cheek, but there is some underlying wisdom in there somewhere.
I recently dismantled a shed for my neighbor, and I'm surprised the wind didn't take away his roof; the trusses were only fastened on each side with a single nail.
Contributor
If your roof was built to code and passed building inspection, then you could argue the code is insufficient.
Contributor
Codes get upgraded all the time. My house was not bolted down in 1950. In the San Francisco bay area that was code in 1950. So saying it met code is not really an excuse. That said there are museums of adobe building still being used today in California.
Bil lD
Contributor
Hard to believe that two 8 penny nails per rafter/truss used to meet code, but in some places it did. Thank God and Simpson for hurricane ties.Originally Posted by Bill Yacey
Member
Insurance claims and coverage can be a squirrelly during natural disasters. During Hurricane Katerina there were insurers that refused to replace homes reduced to slabs. The reasoning was wind versus water damage. The owners would claim the wind blew the house away and insurance companies, that don’t cover floods, claimed the water washed it away. The issue was eventually settled in the courts.
Contributor
Yes. You are still liable. The insurance company may or may not be liable, but you are. The rest is between you and your insurance company.
A few years ago, a driver had a seizure while driving in a parking lot and clipped a number of cars before coming to rest. His insurance company claimed an act of god and denied our estimate. Talked with a lawyer and he said we can not sue the insurance company, as the insurance company did not own the car. We sent a letter to the driver stating he had till Friday to send me a check or convince his insurance company to send a check, and cc’ed the insurance company. Friday came and no check.
We had to sue the driver and let him fight it out with the insurance company. After being served papers to sue in small claims court, the driver threatened to sue his insurance company. The insurance company reversed its stance. I received a check for the repair estimate, the lawyer fee, and the court filing fee. The driver ended up with a suit for damages on the court records that was on his credit report for seven years (edit: or maybe forever?)
Last edited by Charlie Velasquez; 09-09-2020 at 1:26 AM.
Comments made here are my own and, according to my children, do not reflect the opinions of any other person... anywhere, anytime.
Contributor
A driver having a seizure is a much different case than a flying roof or floating car. Seizure being an AOG is a BS insurance defense that a Judge should've thrown out. But of course that's just my opinion. But then, the law is never perfectly clear. And insurance companies are no help...
True, and tragic story: Guy A is driving a semi westbound, sun in his eyes, down a slight incline near a freeway on/off ramp with an 80,000# road grader on his trailer, heading for the freeway on-ramp. There's north/south frontage roads on the east and west sides of the freeway. Guy B is sitting on a Harley, behind one car, in the left turn lane on the east most frontage road, waiting on the light to turn left/east. Guy A has green and red lights in front of him, and suddenly notices the closer frontage road semaphores are red, not the onramp semaphores as he thought. He slams on his brakes about 70' from the intersection. The car in front of Guy B notices the semi's in trouble and doesn't move. Guy B as it turns out, is deaf, and does NOT notice the semi in trouble, and apparently perturbed that the car isn't moving on the green light, he decides to go AROUND the car to turn. Guy A in the semi running the red light instantly killed Guy B making a left turn on his Harley, on a green light...
--Who was at fault?
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ELEVEN - rotary cutter tool machines
FOUR - CO2 lasers
THREE- make that FOUR now- fiber lasers
ONE - vinyl cutter
CASmate, Corel, Gravostyle
Member
There is a stink developing in my neighborhood over some massive trees on municipal property (water authority reservoir). that have been leaning more and more to fall over a road. The tress are only two or three feet off the side of the road and one of them now leans at a 60 degree angle. When any of the four go down, they will take out the electricity for the 20 or so homes up the line including mine. We have notified the water company, the town where the water company is, our local town ship and the electric company. Still nobody does anything. Two of the trees could even fall on the house directly across the street, as well as take the wires down into the house. (I would be scared out of my mind if I were those folks) This state has one rule for trees in residential areas for maintaining trees and in rural areas, only when on notice that a tree represents a danger. We gave notice, still no one does crap. One of the trees is dead and has been a few years. The one that leans the most is also dying at the top.
Contributor
No lawyer here, but look at it from the neighbors perspective. His house is damaged, and he needs it fixed. If his insurance wont cover it or he doesn't have any, he'd be looking for someone to sue, and I think that would be you. The judge would decide liability.
Family member had a giant oak tree split in half, of which the remaining half was unstable and leaning over the neighbors house. The insurance company would not pay to have the hazard removed, saying they would only pay if it actually fell on the neighbors house. Despite all the amusing commercials, the insurance companies are in business to make money, not to make you feel comfortable. Got to read the details in all those policy papers.
Contributor
Perry, your tree case is old common law. The owner of the tree had to have been given written notice of the tree
leaning. A phone call would not qualify as notice. You might already know that....but the city certainly knows about it.
The notice should be certified registered mail.
Member
Many times I have told my teenager driver, “It doesn’t matter who is at fault if you are dead.”
Contributor
I thought an "Act of God" is covered, but usually by your own insurance? A neighbor's tree fell on my car. Insurance considered it an Act of God so my auto insurance had to pay for it plus I had to pay the deductible. It would have been nice if the neighbor helped pay for the deductible, but she was elderly and had no money to help me out.
Contributor
Another point. Isn't the liability portion of your homeowner's insurance supposed to cover liability for things like something blowing away in a storm and damaging another property? A real world example: My neighbor has a cheap trampoline that flew across the street in a storm and ended up in my yard. If the trampoline had damaged my house it seems like the neighbor's insurance should pay. They didn't do anything like stake down the trampoline to stop it from taking flight. I think it might be aluminum instead of steel. This has actually happened twice this summer, but the second time it didn't leave their yard. (I have not stopped to say hello to the neighbors since they moved in about four months ago and the whole COVID thing would probably make them nervous.)
How the heck is insurance liability supposed to be figured out for something like the Joplin, MO tornado that flattened hundreds of houses? If insurance companies start trying to figure out whose roof landed on which property to determine liability all it would do is make a bunch of lawyers rich and clog the courts. It would seem to be cheaper for the insurance companies in a case like that just pay for the damage to properties they insure and forget the lawsuits.
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