Quote:
Originally Posted by HammeR_
Even if all the people effected by this fire and their insurance companies go after this guy, whats to say they will ever recoup costs? It he doesnt have a liability policy... wouldnt he just declare bankruptcy and never have to pay anyone back? I am not sure if this is what would happen....but likely he could be deemed responsible for millions of dollars by a court, but if the guys has no money, no one gets paid?
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First thing the insurance companies will do is determine if there is a chance for subrogation. They need to prove negligence and investigate to prove the cause and see if they can find him legally liable. They will look at the individual and their financial standing etc. If he has a policy with 1M legal liability they will surely go after him. In this case there will be lots of people going after him and the unit owners will also go after him and they have up to 2 years to start a legal action against him. If they get a judgement against him they can garnishee his wages. Also once you have a judgement against you your credit rating is worthless. The great thing about having a small condo insurance policy for say 1M liability is that in addition to the 1M liability the insurance company pays to defend you if you are ever sued and this is in addition to the liability. Also the additional living expenses coverage will be paying out here to cover the cost of living elsewhere while they rebuild the condos which will likely take up to a year. Legal fees are a major cost to insurance companies and help determine if they will pursue action or not. They aren't going to pay $100,000 in legal fees to get back $50,000. In this case we are talking about millions so you can bet the insurance companies and unit holders involved are going after this guy.....