Steve B. wrote:
Thanks guys, I wouldn't put anything past the insurance companies.
Maybe they will pay, maybe they won't but I'm not really willing to
take the chance. It never hurts to have a second pair of eyes.
However, I wonder how someone would be able to tell the difference
between a newly installed charcoaled electrical addition and an old
charcoaled electrical addition. They would have to send a super
inspector at the time I bought the house to check if every wire burried
behind drywall is up to code. My insurance company basically sent
someone over to check that the property really exsisted and to check
the distance to the nearest fire hydrant.



Recently Romex wire changed the sheath color depending on the wire
gauge. So if you were in a ten year old house full of standard ol'
white Romex cables and one pretty new yellow romex cable burned down
the house they have a clue where to start looking. Also if they find
anything you did without permit it sets precedent that you do
electrical work in your home and don't necessarily get a permit. I've
seen an insurance company use this logic in court on a case where a
large plant was destroyed by fire.

Even with that said I have never heard a verifiable case of homeowners
insurance denying coverage for even a stupid mistake.

Steve B.

I am a firefighter and during the mid eighties I was called to testify
in just such a case. I wish I could remember the name of the insurance
company and the exact date but alas I cannot. It was admittedly an
extreme example but the homeowner had refinished his basement and for
his electrical outlets he had used one inch deep communications boxes
and the replacement only two wire outlets. The fire actually originated
at a box were a freezer was plugged in using an adapter. The basement
was finished with paneling fastened directly to the studs which made a
very fast and very hot fire. In spite of those conditions we made a dam
good stop and held the fire to the basement level. The only damage
above other than some minor smoke was from the process of searching for
hidden fire by opening up the walls behind the base boards to check for
extension. The basement and contents were a total loss and much of the
first floor's structural support had to be rebuilt. The home owners
problems with his insurance carrier began with their review of the fire
cause and origin report from the county fire marshal's office. They
then sent an investigator of their own and declined the claim. The
insurance company called several firefighters to testify but we never
got to do so. The judge refused to let it go to trial once the
plaintiff home owner admitted to having done the electrical work without
a permit and his attorney could not offer an alternative explanation of
the cause of the fire. The judge said that it was a legal absurdity to
attempt to collect an insurance award for the consequences of your own
unlawful act. I lost a mornings work but I got a new uniform out of the
deal.
--
Tom H