Posted on 10/22/2024 9:09:46 PM PDT by Responsibility2nd
LAS VEGAS (KLAS)– A national insurance company refuses to pay the insurance claim of an 82-year-old woman whose home in Las Vegas caught fire and burned to the ground in July 2023, destroying 70% of it and the majority of her possessions inside, the 8 News Now Investigators have learned.
Liberty Mutual canceled the woman’s homeowners policy two weeks before the fire saying the woman, Judi Johnson – and her special-needs adult son – were running a motorcycle repair shop out of the three-bedroom home near Oakey and MLK boulevards, according to documents provided by the homeowner.
“No,” Johnson said when asked if she or her son were running a business from the home. “And I don’t see how it could have been very profitable. You know, we have no skills. We have no abilities. I don’t know, one bike from another.”
Regardless, Johnson and her son are living in temporary housing. She says before the house was boarded up, vagrants would break in, stay inside – and loot – the house.
“They would break the padlocks,” Johnson said, telling the 8 News Now Investigators that those intruders “ripped out all the plumbing.”
Neil May, a public insurance adjuster at Spartan Claims Resources, took Johnson’s case when the insurance company refused to pay Johnson’s claim.
“She definitely needs an advocate,” May said during a tour of the property earlier this year.
“The just resolution would be that they [Liberty Mutual] would cover this loss and they’d rebuild it to preloss condition,” May said, noting that normally an insurance company would make an initial offer of settlement within 30 days of the claim.
Johnson said contractors she hired to provide estimates said it would take six-to-nine months to restore the home. But it’s been vacant for well over a year and work has not commenced.
“This is accidental direct physical loss, which is an accident,” May said. “This is something that is definitely covered by every homeowner insurance policy. “
Initially, Johnson explained, an inspector from Liberty Mutual told her a cigarette butt he found in her back yard caused the fire. But Johnsonis adamant that the fire started on the back exterior wall of her home where her solar system hardware is located.
“He said, ‘this is what caused the fire.’ I said, ‘the fire started there, and a cigarette butt doesn’t stay lit,” Johnson told the 8 News Now Investigators, pointing out the black char on the wall surrounding the solar installation.
Las Vegas Fire and Rescue, whose firefighters Johnson credits with putting out the quickly-spreading fire and saving her pets’ lives, would not identify a cause.
“While we may have a theory, it would be unethical to confirm or negate the theory as we cannot apply supporting evidence,” a fire and rescue spokesman told the 8 News Now Investigators. Explaining that citing a source of a fire requires a “high degree of certainty and proof,” the spokesman said: “The heat source is listed as undetermined. Additionally, the factors contributing to ignition are listed as undetermined.”
But May, the public adjuster, said Johnson is being mistreated by the insurance company since it hired an attorney from California to represent it in its investigation of Johnson’s claim.
“I think she’s being more belligerent towards our client, Judi,” May said, adding, “How would you want someone to treat your grandmother? That’s how you should treat every client.”
The attorney examined Johnson under oath in December 2023. She took issue with Johnson’s written assertion that a certain refrigerator she bought at Lowe’s perished in the fire and would cost $700 to replace. The attorney called Johnson’s refrigerator claim “a lie.” Johnson, in her own defense and appearing at the examination without an attorney, said, “I did the best I could.”
“That’s not doing the best you can,” the lawyer replied. At a different juncture, the attorney cautioned Johnson that the misrepresentation was “potentially a felony.”
To date, there are no charges against Johnson pending in Clark County Justice Court or District Court.
But the examination under oath evolved into a discussion of the purported business being operated from within Johnson’s home.
Johnson said she appealed the insurance company’s decision to cancel her policy.
The attorney asked, “And then the decision on the appeal was they still felt that a business was being operated out of your home, correct?”
“Correct,” Johnson said.
“And two weeks later, the house catches fire?” the attorney asked.
“Correct,” Johnson answered.
“And you don’t think anything’s wrong with that?” the attorney asked, questioning the timing of the policy cancellation and the fire.
Johnson, though, is optimistic.
“The way I look at it,” Johnson told the 8 News Now Investigators, “I’m going to win.”
Are the homeowners right? Wrong or right - Liberty Mutual DID cancel the policy a week before the fire. In my book the homeowners were uninsured.
It would depend on the language of the insurance contract and state law. On what grounds is the insurer allowed to cancel unilaterally? What sort of appeal process is there if she claims she wasn’t actually running a motorcycle repair shop out of her home?
How many warnings before the cancellation?
The insurance company is in the wrong here which is normal.
That they are making no attempts to correct it until it is blared in the newspapers showing what err.... delightful and upstanding citizens they are is also normal.
How many warnings before the cancellation?
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Johnson was duly warned and she appealed the cancellation. Then 2 weeks later the house burns.
I find it hard to believe an old lady and her idiot son were running a business there. But it’s possible.
You have to play the game by the rules and the rules are when you don’t have insurance you can’t settle with the insurance company. I’m sure there is a clause in the very policy that was canceled that states that the insurance company can cancel the policy. They have every right to cancel a policy because they are insuring the house under specific circumstances and if you deviate from the circumstances you are in breach of the contract and subject to having your policy canceled. The way I see it is the insurance company did exactly the right thing and luckily so.
I’m sorry for the little old lady but she is the one who raised her “special needs” son and he was probably the one who installed a solar power system. He did it himself to save money on installation and on electricity. He took advantage of his mother and doomed her to homelessness. It’s her bad luck and his stupidity and not the fault of the insurance company.
Liberty Mutual recently canceled a homeowners policy as satellite pictures showed the owners had a bad roof.
Turns out the homeowners had solar panels on their roof and the lazy bastards at Liberty Mutual didn’t bother to check this out.
If she was paid up, they had no right to cancel, especially since they cancelled for a bogus reason. Good luck, lady; I’d try go fund me.
Yes, but if she was running a business out of her home, she should be canceled. Paid up or not.
A court will decide. And I’m betting Johnson will prevail.
I may have been premature concluding that the son installed a solar power system. She says it was where the fire started. I have solar in my house and it doesn’t look like anything that would catch on fire. I also have known of people who installed their own solar panels and stuff to save money. Ours had multiple inspections and certifications during the process by the city and the local utility company.
I also informed my insurance company about my panels.
They then proceeded to refuse to admit there was no claim and because she had "excessive claims" she could not get insurance with another company that was affordable.
After something like two years and finally getting a news show to cover it they back tracked and admitted there were no "excessive claims" and took them off her record.
She got insurance through another company.
These are what I call "unforced errors". Small mistakes that should be able to be fixed by a low level manager in under thirty minutes but that somehow are left to stew until they blow up and the company ends up with egg on their face.
And they keep happening.
My 86 year old paranoid dementia mother who has lived in the same house for 50 years. Had same insurance company.
Got a letter describing some issues with the house. She had 9 months to complete repairs.
Fix porch stairs, cut back bushes, clean gutters, and remove a branch.
It was the start of winter, 5 months later all issues were solved.
We took pictures and the day we were going to the insurance company, she got a letter saying her policy was canceled .
What the hell.
Her agent got it all sorted out and no lapse in coverage.
But the shock did not help and she passed away 2 months later.
So ya, insurance can cancel your policy.
Liberty Mutual Cancelled my Home owners insurance about 2 years ago,
also because they said my roof needed to be replaced.
I called 2 local roofing companies to come inspect my roof.
I did not tell either company about Liberty Mutual informing me I needed
a new roof.
Both companies climbed on my roof and did a physical inspection.
LM did not do a physical inspection.
After both local roofing companies did their physical inspections.
One said I had 10% granular loss. The other said I had 15% granular loss.
Both very low granular loss.
Needless to say I found another Insurance Company to write me thru
a local Independent Insurance Broker. And my rate is only about $105 per month. If you are having a problem with “Major” Insurance Companies,
try a local Independent Insurance Broker. They have a much wider net of
Independent Insurance Companies to draw from.
They aren’t allowed to cancel insurance immediately, they notify you that it is being canceled on a future effective date. Usually, 30 days from the date of the notice and the right to appeal the cancelation before the insurance commission if you feel the stated reason is bogus. The insurance company has to provide evidence to support their claims.
I’m aware of many individuals who have worked from their garage.
Need more facts.
I was an expert witness on a long court case where Aetna denied a claim on a business that totally burnt. My client won several million.
I showed the jury that Aetna’s internal rate of return on investments provided more money than the original claim, just by delaying payment for several years. They allowed me, as a finance professor and CPA to show the jury that Aetna’s expert witness was lying by misrepresenting the financial position of the business.
I do not trust insurance companies.
My advice to anyone is to always have a business continuing policy that forces the insurance company to pay while they are delaying payment. Without that, they delay payment as long as they can.
“They aren’t allowed to cancel insurance immediately, they notify you that it is being canceled on a future effective date. Usually, 30 days from the date of the notice and the right to appeal the cancelation before the insurance commission if you feel the stated reason is bogus.”
The laws vary by state.
I left Libert Mutual as their rate increases were insane due to all the roof replacement claims.
Many insurance companies are denying insurance for homes if a shingle roof is more than ten years old. There is a development near me where all the homes were built in the last ten years. The insurance companies are now replacing all the roofs due to hail damage.
Uninsured in my book, too.. My uncle’s insurance company once told him that his house needed painting and if it wasn’t painted, they’d let the policy lapse. Why? keeping up with the looks and condition of the house is indicative that it likely would be let to run to ground and have an ‘accidental’ fire.
I’d like to see her submission on the contrition of the house prior to the fire and the extent and content and shape of the contents.
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