After a Florida woman’s house fire, her insurer declared it a total loss — here’s who decides if it gets rebuilt
A Tampa woman lost her home in a fire — and then received a municipal notice giving her 21 days to demolish it. If she didn’t comply, the city would do it on her behalf and send her the bill. The problem? Her insurer’s investigation takes about 60 days to complete.
The fire, which started in the garage and spread throughout the house, left no room untouched.
Jamie Cohn told WFLA’s Better Call Behnken that she wants to preserve the frame of the house and rebuild, but even an extension from the city doesn’t leave enough time for her insurance company to complete its investigation (1).
“The evidence of the fire would be not there,” she told Better Call Behnken. She’s worried this would impact the ability of her insurer to complete its claim investigation, and potentially jeopardize her payout.
This is a trap that most homeowners don’t know exists until they’re in it.
Each state has different rules. Under Florida law, for example, insurers have 14 days to acknowledge receipt of a claim. From there, they have 90 days from the date the claim is filed to complete their investigation and either approve or deny the claim. Claims typically take from 60 to 90 days (2).
On the other hand, a municipality can demand that a homeowner tear down a fire-damaged house if it’s considered a public safety hazard. This typically involves issuing a formal notice to the homeowner with a deadline for demolition — and that deadline can be tight, depending on the state of the property and the risk to public safety.
Municipal code demolition timelines are governed by local municipal building codes, which can vary across the country. But municipal code enforcement operates independently of insurance claim timelines.
Despite this, if you don’t comply with the municipal order, then the municipality can go ahead and demolish your property, bill you for it and, if you can’t pay, place a lien on the property to recover costs (3). Placing a lien on the property could complicate insurance payouts, limiting your control over the funds.
Plus, if the home is demolished before the insurer completes its investigation, you may lose the ability to document cause, scope and value of damage, potentially jeopardizing or reducing your payout.
