Negligence Causing Fire Damage and Deductible

[zipper]

My question involves insurance law for the state of: Ontario

Hello,

Last weekend there was a major fire at the house next door. There is a fair bit of heat and smoke damage to the one side of my house. I had an adjuster over who said because of negligence on the part of the neighbor that he would be able to get my deductible either waived or returned to me. Negligence being they were intoxicated and her boyfriend who is not on her insurance policy put out a cigarette in a flower planter on the back deck.

I received a call today to say that I will have to pay my deductible in order to proceed with the claim. I believe this is because the neighbor, who was right there on the deck with him while he was smoking was not the one who ultimately decided that it was a good idea to be careless with his smoke.

Needless to say I was not very happy to hear this. It is not so much about the money, more about the principal. It makes me feel sick to think that I have to pay for such a blatantly careless act. I am having a hard time also with the fact her insurance company would say that she was not being negligent. It's not as though she wasn't at home at the time, never mind being right there with this guy.

Any help or suggestion would greatly be appreciated.
Thanks for reading.

[Mr. Knowitall]

This is a U.S. forum, not a Canadian forum, so to get your question answered under Canadian law you should ask a Canadian lawyer or post to a Canadian legal site.

If you can demonstrate negligence by your neighbor you may be able to recover your deductible through small claims court.