Who wouldn’t enter a house with a snake infestation for a million dollars? Wish granted, thought one homeowner. I’m Amy E. Feldman.
A Maryland homeowner was trying to smoke out a snake’s nest in his basement so he lit coals inside with the intent to get the snakes to leave… and burned down his house. Both your mom and everyone would tell you not to pay with matches. But what would your homeowners policy say if it found out that you burned down your house, albeit accidentally?
Homeowners policies differ, but in general, they do cover accidental fires like leaving a candle unattended, but they will not pay for fires you’ve intentionally set. Here, the homeowner did not intend to burn down his house, but he did intend to light coals inside the home, so it’s not clear if his policy will cover it or not. The good news is that while there is no information about the snakes’ condition per se, they may well have vacated once they realized they no longer had a roof over their head. The bad news is, neither does the homeowner.
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