l had a fire between my wall and chimney today. l tore out the drywall and put out the fire. Should my insurance company cover only the dry wall or should they repair whatever caused the fire as well? l just had the chimney inspected and cleaned last year as an FYI.

What do you mean, ''what caused the fire''?

YOUR AGENT will tell you what they cover. What they cover, depends on the policy, and the circumstances of the loss.

Ordinarily, home owners insurance covers the repair of property,but not the cause. Let is say u had a toilet leak, & it went through the bathroom floor, into the ceiling of ur first floor. The cost to repair the toilet is not covered. The other damages are.

Before u take another step, call in a public adjuster. They invariably get more for u than u can negotiate yourself. It is usually well worth the cost. Best of luck.

p.s.- ur agent will NOT tell u what will be covered. Only the claims department of the Insurer can do that. Agents r prohibited from telling customers what items may be included or excluded, anyone who tells u otherwise is speaking in total ignorance. The only thing the agent can do is refer u to the claims department.

be careful when trying to get a claim, if you get very many the insurance company may drop you! If it is just a small repair, just pay for it yourself and be done with it. save the claims for large items such as a new roof. homeowners insurance is not much different than car insurance, if you get too many accidents (usually 3) in a certain amount of time they will raise your rates or drop you or consider you a high risk and raise your rates sky high!

Other poster here is right. If the claim is small, just fix it yourself. Your deductible might not cover it anyways.

Save a claim for something big or something you can not afford to take care of yourself. l would take care of this one yourself.

Fire, fire is what caused the damage. This is a covered peril. The damages as a result of the fire r covered also. Under any policy. No matter what the cause. unless it is arson committed by you. This is the only exclusion.

The difference is between the policies if u have a homeowners A or a Dwelling form 1 You will have depreciation.

If u have a homeowners B or Dwelling Form 1 with a Water damage endorsement, u have depreciation.

IF u have a homeowners C or Dwelling for 3 u have replacement cost. However depreciation will be deducted until the repairs r made.

If u have any Homeowners policies u may be subject to Additional Living Expenses. ALE.

Now it has been my experience of looking a hundred of house fires. from the total destruction to the common chimney fire. It always never is below the deductible. The smoke is the damaging factor in small fires. The smell & the Damages done to ur clothing, bedding carpet, linens, & personal items. Even ur food will be damaged.

So do not take a fire lightly It may have done more damage than u think. Make sure the Adjuster can see all of the damages & be honest. even if u were shitfaced at the time. Tell him the truth.

The insurance company may refuse to renew ur policy if u have filed more than 3 claims in a two year period. The insurance company must notify u if u have had 2 claim with notice of a third being a refusal to renew if the third is filed. These conditions r as they state Refusal to Renew. Not cancellation. A Denial may be made if u r not completely honest with ur Adjuster.

And no the insurance company will cover fire damage, smoke damage, water damage( Caused by the fire) & will cover access to the fire location, walls addic etc.