Oil Boiler catches fire

A little stressed today. Went to property to do odd and end items to finalize the house for occupancy. I have a tenant we are considering at this point. Anyway, went to house and it appeared cold. Boiler wasn’t on so I restarted it. It ran for about an hour. I restarted it about an hour later. A few minutes later I hear a strange sound....like water I thought. Anyway, I go to boiler room and it’s in flames. I knew it was too big for me so I call 911 immediately (after closing door). They arrive quickly and put the fire out. Boiler room is shot, boiler is melted, electric panel and everything in room is crisp, soot in the house.

On a side note. The insurance was cancelled effective today due to house being vacant. The insurance company reinstated the policy after my broker meeting with insurance company until April 1st. I received the reinstatement notice. I subsequently received a cancellation notice effective March 17 for non-payment. Check has been mailed and it appears they received it yesterday. I also made another payment online to avoid and questions of nonpayment. We are very skeptical of insurance companies when it comes to claims. As such, I try to avoid claims at all cost this day and age. However, the damage is just too substantial at this point. We just purchased this property a few weeks ago.

What should I expect in dealing with the insurance company? Any advice? --107.77.xxx.xx

Oil Boiler catches fire (by AllyM [NJ]) Posted on: Mar 10, 2018 5:34 PM
Message:

Get your own appraiser and don't have a conversation with any of the insurance people. They will try to get you to say something that they can use to deny your claim. Get a lawyer now and let him talk to them. This is a problem. Oil may have been spraying inside the housing from a pinhole in the piping. It's easy to light up in vapor or droplet form, I was told. --69.141.xxx.xxx

Oil Boiler catches fire (by NE [PA]) Posted on: Mar 10, 2018 5:52 PM
Message:

Oh boy. Walking a fine line here. You may want to post this under another title too so it gets more attention. Maybe: Fire with no insurance!!

Good luck, please post a follow up. --50.32.xxx.xxx

Oil Boiler catches fire (by Dan N Boston [MA]) Posted on: Mar 10, 2018 6:45 PM
Message:

Careful here. They may claim the policy is null and void due to to vacancy.

Be careful what you say to them. Get an attorney or get your own adjuster.

--98.216.xx.x

Oil Boiler catches fire (by Dan N Boston [MA]) Posted on: Mar 10, 2018 6:49 PM
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Hire your own public adjuster ,,,,, --98.216.xx.x

Oil Boiler catches fire (by GKARL [PA]) Posted on: Mar 10, 2018 6:52 PM
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Insurance companies have a specific policy for vacant properties and that's the one that should have been in place. Your broker should have advised you on that. --172.58.xxx.xxx

Oil Boiler catches fire (by Dan [NY]) Posted on: Mar 10, 2018 6:57 PM
Message:

Broker and insurance company are aware House was vacant. They usually allow 30 days to fill the house I was told. The insurance company reinstated policy knowing we were searching for a tenant.

--107.77.xxx.xx

Oil Boiler catches fire (by Deanna [TX]) Posted on: Mar 10, 2018 7:47 PM
Message:

Very happy that you were present to catch things before problems got bigger! Good luck on sorting things out--- but I'm very happy that the damage was contained. --96.46.xxx.xx

Oil Boiler catches fire (by hollis [MA]) Posted on: Mar 11, 2018 4:19 AM
Message:

Yep independent insurance adjuster, make sure it has good reputation. They will analyze and advise. If possible to collect they will fight for you better than lawyers IMO.

They will more than justify their fee. --66.30.xx.xxx

Oil Boiler catches fire (by Dan [NY]) Posted on: Mar 11, 2018 4:43 AM
Message:

Is an independent adjuster worth the cost? The majority of the damage is isolated to the boiler room. --107.77.xxx.xx

Oil Boiler catches fire (by elliot [RI]) Posted on: Mar 11, 2018 6:02 AM
Message:

My biz policy has $5K deductible. Methinks, at what point you will involve insurance..

How much does it cost to have a second hand boiler/electric panel installed over there? Here, you can get those done under 5K.. --71.232.xxx.xxx

Oil Boiler catches fire (by Dan [NY]) Posted on: Mar 11, 2018 6:11 AM
Message:

We have a 1k deductible. We essentially have soot damage, boiiker is shot, electric panel/breakers and inspection of wires. Vents for the boiler room to the outside. --107.77.xxx.xx

Oil Boiler catches fire (by Dan [NY]) Posted on: Mar 11, 2018 6:12 AM
Message:

Trying to figure out if the appraiser is necessary due to the extent of the damages. --107.77.xxx.xx

Oil Boiler catches fire (by Ken [NY]) Posted on: Mar 11, 2018 7:07 AM
Message:

Dan,you don't need an appraiser,you need a public adjuster,he will represent your interests against the insurance company.The insurance company works for the shareholders not you and jip you if they can,the public adjuster knows every trick to get more money and will read policy and knows what they really owe you. --72.231.xxx.xxx

Oil Boiler catches fire (by Vee [OH]) Posted on: Mar 11, 2018 9:57 AM
Message:

I would suggest starting by turning off the electricity so you can get simple green, broom and hose to clear up the mess and discover what caused this. Fix the problem and rewire the controls, you may have to replace a few stretches of conduit if the wire jacketing stuck inside and you are unable to pull in new by pulling out the old, depending on your receiver tank spacing you may have a mix of 24VAC and 110VAC wiring going around, be sure you understand the 24VAC loop that prevents the gas valve from opening, the colors do not matter there as much as having the floats all active. Boiler and associated piping are prolly fine but you have to find what caused the fire before you leave it unattended again, I am guessing with a few hours of rewiring you will not meet the deductible.. --76.188.xxx.xx

Oil Boiler catches fire (by Hollis [MA]) Posted on: Mar 11, 2018 3:10 PM
Message:

"Is an independent adjuster worth the cost?"

Yeah they will cost you about 20%.

And they will get you 40+ more than the insurance company will give you in just about most cases,....

--96.236.xxx.xx

Oil Boiler catches fire (by Dan [NY]) Posted on: Mar 11, 2018 4:01 PM
Message:

I already connected with an independent appraiser. The insurance company had a crew of guys cleaning up the walls today. They left the boiler room alone for the investigation so my largest concern is the insurance company trying to go out of the claim. I was already told not to communicate with them without a rep. --68.192.xxx.xxx

Oil Boiler catches fire (by Frank [NJ]) Posted on: Mar 13, 2018 9:33 AM
Message:

I wonder why you let the ins. co. do anything at this point. They DO NOT WORK FOR YOU. they will do all that they can do mitigate THEIR payout.

The crew cleaned...did they de-odorize?

I recall a family member who had a fire at their retail store. For over a year after the event there was a residual smell of smoke/fire that has remained in my nose-memory forever.

Not too long ago we had an event of a spill on our driveway. the idiot Ins. Co sent someone over with a bottle of dawn and a very low-end power washer and tried to call it quits.

Acting as my own advocate [and admittedly it took a long time] we prevailed to the tune of over 6K!

AND after all the time had lapsed I got the right tools and the right worker [ME!] and got rid of the stain.

Lesson: The insurance companies do not work for your best interest...even YOUR company.

Get the public adjuster NOT an appraiser. --74.105.xxx.xxx

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