New Brunswick Fire Loss Lawyers

A fire claim in New Brunswick is a claim against your own insurer. The same insurer decides whether to pay it. A New Brunswick fire loss lawyer steps in when the adjuster’s questions turn into a denial, a delay, or an offer that would not rebuild the house.

The Policy Deadlines Run From the Fire, Not From the Denial

The Insurance Act, RSNB 1973, c I-12 writes statutory conditions into every fire policy in the province. They require prompt notice of the loss, a sworn proof of loss, and cooperation with the insurer’s investigation, and they set the time within which an action on the policy must be brought. That contractual period is shorter than the general two years from discovery in the Limitation of Actions Act, and the courts enforce it. Find out the date in the week of the fire. By the time a cheque fails to arrive it can already have passed.

Insurers Deny Fire Claims on Cause, on Policy Conditions or on Value

Most denials come down to one of three arguments. The insurer alleges the fire was set or the claim was inflated, and relies on a fire investigator’s report and an examination under oath. Or the insurer says you breached a condition of the policy, because the house was vacant, the wood stove was uninspected, or a renovation went unreported. Or the insurer disputes the value, on replacement cost against actual cash value, on the contents schedule, and on the cost of the code upgrades the rebuild will require. Each is a different fight with different evidence. A New Brunswick fire loss lawyer retains the firm’s own origin-and-cause expert and contents appraiser rather than arguing with the insurer’s.

The Claim Recovers the Rebuild, Contents, Living Expenses and Bad Faith Damages

The dwelling to the policy’s replacement cost, contents, additional living expenses while you cannot live in the house, and debris removal. Where the insurer’s handling was unreasonable, the courts award damages for bad faith on top of the policy proceeds, and the Court of King’s Bench of New Brunswick has done so.

Appraisal Settles the Amount and the Court of King’s Bench Settles Coverage

The statutory conditions provide an appraisal process where only the amount is in dispute. Each side names an appraiser and an umpire decides. Where coverage itself is denied, the claim goes to the Court of King’s Bench, Trial Division. A tenant whose belongings burned in a landlord’s fire claims on a tenant’s policy, and may claim against the landlord or a negligent neighbour in the same court.

The Moncton office and the Saint John office both take fire loss files.

The Insurer Wants Me to Give a Statement Under Oath. Do I Have To?

Yes, the statutory conditions require it, and refusing can forfeit the claim. Do it with a lawyer present, after reviewing the policy and your own records.

Can the Insurer Cancel My Claim Because a Smoke Detector Was Not Working?

Only if the policy made a working detector a condition of coverage and the breach caused or worsened the loss. Most policies do not, and most breaches do not.

Our House Was Underinsured. What Then?

You recover to the policy limit. Whether the broker who set the limit was negligent is a separate claim against the broker, and worth asking about.

How Long Does a New Brunswick Fire Loss Lawyer Take to Resolve a Claim?

An uncontested claim pays in months. A denied claim settles or is tried within about two years, and interest runs on the amount owed from the date it should have been paid.

Read the firm’s fire loss guide. Past results appear on the results page. Other claim types are covered under injury law areas.

No Fee Unless the Claim Resolves

The first call is free and a lawyer takes it. There is no fee unless the claim resolves. The Moncton office opens the file. Contact the firm, or read what the firm can do.