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Insurance & the Weaver fertilizer plant fire: Who pays for evacuation expenses, smoke damage, etc.

Fire damage is easy to see, but smoke damage potential is harder to assess.

WINSTON-SALEM, N.C. — The Weaver Fertilizer plant fire in Winston-Salem could have insurance implications for folks, even if they don’t live within the one-mile evacuation radius. The smoke and odor are shifting.

RELATED: Winston-Salem fertilizer plant fire updates, emergency evacuation and shelter information

The 80-year-old plant caught on fire Monday night with 600 tons of ammonium nitrate.

Christopher Cook with Alliance Insurance Services says the potential for smoke damage needs to be on your mind.

“The possibility of smoke damage may linger out there. I mean, you know the damage if the fire spread to your house, you could see it, but smoke damage isn’t as easy to assess. Smoke damage to personal property or the inside of your home is covered under your policy,” said Cook.

When it comes to those folks in the evacuation area, many of them have
expenses they weren't planning on, hotel stays, eating out, buying necessary items they had to leave behind. So, does your insurance cover this? It can be tricky.

“It's going to depend on the contract you have, the insurance carrier. Think about it, in hurricane situations we typically see no evacuation expenses, in wildfire situations they do. In this particular situation, it's neither of those,” said Cook.

Cook says documentation is key, always keep your receipts so you can submit them to your insurance.

Smoke damage and fire, even if the issue didn't start in your home is covered, but should you be paying the deductible if it wasn’t your fault?
Cook says if your insurance company believes the business is liable, the insurance company can go after the company. If the company pays out, you’ll get your deductible back.

    


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