been looking at putting an insert in my old masonry fireplace, I had a sweep come out last week and he told me at some point that I have had a chimney fire and should discontinue use until damage was fixed. He took pictures from inside the house and down the chimney on the roof and I had vertical cracks in my flue tiles and also missing grout and bricks in my smoke chamber also crown needs to be resurfaced due to cracks, firebox is warped and grout missing around edges of that also plus several other things. insurance company is sending another company to look at it later this week, my question is when they do the work do they have to bring my fireplace and chimney up to 2014 IRC codes house was built in 1969 and if so will insurance cover the cost of that also or will they only pay for what was damaged in chimney fire [liner and smoke chamber], sorry so long and Thanks for replies
Chimney damage
- Thread starter tidepops1
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They will pay to repair the fire damage not repair the crown or firebox. Are they going to make you use the money to fix the fireplace or will they let you put it towards an insert and liner? That varies from company to company. And did the sweep say the smoke chamber was fire damage? That would be rare definitely possible but rare and if it is it had to be one heck of a fire.
fire_man
Minister of Fire
I think your insurance policy would have to have a separate provision that states repair work brings it up to local code - at least that's how my policy works.
Also - make sure you do the math to compare what happens when you make a claim against your policy, versus just paying out of pocket. Your rate may go up, and you may be "marked" in the eyes of the insurer as a higher risk sine you will have a claim history.
Also - make sure you do the math to compare what happens when you make a claim against your policy, versus just paying out of pocket. Your rate may go up, and you may be "marked" in the eyes of the insurer as a higher risk sine you will have a claim history.
it is a steel firebox that is all I know, warped may not have been the right word but it is definitely bulging out like the center of it popped out to form a bulge
that is what I understood him to say showed pictures of bricks laying against the chamber wall and picture of where they fell from, I may have misunderstood that that was caused by a fire
Nick Mystic
Minister of Fire
I concur with fire_man on running the math before you file an insurance claim. A couple years ago a lightning strike took out our hot water tank and I filed a claim. After my deductible I only got about $250 and then when my next insurance premium arrived my rate went up by 20%! So the insurance company would have recouped the entire payout from me in just two years.
fire_man
Minister of Fire
Wow that's a new one, lightening taking out a hot water tank - never heard of that.
The only time it makes sense to collect on insurance is if its a really big loss - that's why my deductible is really high - may as well be compensated for not collecting on the insurance.
The only time it makes sense to collect on insurance is if its a really big loss - that's why my deductible is really high - may as well be compensated for not collecting on the insurance.
ours goes up weather we make a claim or not so if i have reason i will make the claim. We do allot of liners through insurance and we have never heard that the customers rates get hiked because of it. But I also don't ask them about it specifically
Nick Mystic
Minister of Fire
I'm up in the foothills of Western NC and we've had four lighting strikes within 100 yards of our house in the ten years we've lived here. The one that took out the water heater came in through a copper pipe and blew a hole in the top of the hot water tank. A few years earlier we had a strike that came in through the wiring and fried several electronic devices. We just ate the cost on that even though it was over our deductible. So, when the water heater got hit I figured I'd put in a claim. When I got hit with the 20% rate hike I increased my deductible up to $1000 since I could see it didn't make sense to file on anything smaller than that. The higher deductible dropped my rater by about 25% so I came out even lower than before the hike.
Allstate tries that crap every few years with the car insurance and the homeowner's both with some BS excuse. I just tell them to cancel both since I don't finance cars and the house is paid off so nothing forces me to carry insurance. A day later I get a call telling me "never mind".
Only fender bender a couple of years ago the agent told me that it would be better if I just paid the other party rather than have my rates go up. I told him I was well aware of the bonus check he got every year for holding down the claims paid out of his agency. Just cancel those two 40 year policies and go *&%^ himself. Claim magically never dinged the rates a dime.
Only fender bender a couple of years ago the agent told me that it would be better if I just paid the other party rather than have my rates go up. I told him I was well aware of the bonus check he got every year for holding down the claims paid out of his agency. Just cancel those two 40 year policies and go *&%^ himself. Claim magically never dinged the rates a dime.
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