The insured sustained a total loss on his dwelling covered under an AAIS homeowners policy. The insurance company paid $81,000, which was the amount the dwelling was insured for. The insured submits debris removal expense, which included meals for volunteers. The volunteers consisted of members of a local church of which our insured is the preacher.
The insurance company is denying payment for the meals, stating that no coverage applies. Our insured obviously kept the overall cost of debris removal down by this assistance from his congregation. It seems only reasonable for the insured to compensate—or feed—the volunteers. Is this expense covered?
Arkansas Subscriber
The AAIS homeowners policy promises to pay the "cost to remove the debris of covered property after an insured loss." It does not specify which costs it will pay and which it will not. Nor does it specify by whom the work must be done.
In a typical situation, the company called in to do the removal would charge an amount per hour. The insurer would then pay that company its fee.
In this case, the "fee" is the expense to feed the volunteers. Such an expense is well within the concept of the "cost to remove the debris of covered property."