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On February 3, 2006 Ruby Margaret Reum died in her home at the age of 79. Cause of death: smoke inhalation caused from fire. This day will be forever engraved in our memory as the worst day of our lives. Our dad lost his wife of 55 years and his home. Our dad was 81 years old at the time. No one wants to even think that their house might burn down and they might be left with nothing. My dad not only had to deal with the loss of his wife but the fact that he was homeless. All he had were the clothes on his back, his truck and his dog. At least my dad had insurance. The day after the fire we contacted our insurance broker. He told us that we really didn't have to call until Monday. No, I guess we could wait till Monday but isn't that what living expenses are for, to provide you with clothes and a place to live in the event of an emergency.
My dad's case was assigned to an Insurance Adjuster out of Grande Prairie. It is their job because they work for the insurance company (not you) to pay the client as little as possible. The Insurance Adjuster, a very arrogant rude man arrived at my brother's house seven days after the fire to question my dad and fill out the necessary documents to get the ball rolling. He spent two hours interrogating our dad with meaningless questions like; What did you eat for lunch? Which driveway did you drive in? Looking back we should never have allowed this. At this point though, we were still in shock and unaware that the insurance company was looking for ways to get out of paying. Because the fire had flared up a couple times during the week the Fire Dept. had to come back to the scene and tear apart some of the wreckage to completely put out the fire. By the time the Insurance Companies Adjuster and Fire Investigator came, there was no telling how the fire started. He had to go by what the investigator in Peace River reported. The Fire Investigator in Peace River was at the scene for 1 hour. It was dark by this time. He concluded that the fire was started by the wood stove. He stated that the fire went across the roof, down the wall between the addition and trailer and under my Mom's bedroom floor. According to my dad's report, he came home, tried to get in the front door but couldn't because it was too hot so he went around to the south patio doors. He walked across in front of the wood stove and was faced with flames at the kitchen entrance. He said there was no fire in the wood stove at the time. When we the family investigated the scene the next day, before the Fire Dept came back a second and third time. We saw the stove pipe totally intact and laying across the floor of the addition. If the fire had gone across the roof it would have had to go through an insulated pipe. There were not cracks or holes in the pipe. When our dad opened the front door this would have fueled the fire drawing it into the addition. Later on the Fire Dept pulled down the north wall of the trailer. This would have then fueled the fire from the north. This could be why the center of the trailer was such a hot spot. In any case the wood stove was blamed.
When the wood stove was first installed my mom went to the insurance broker to add the wood stove to her policy. My dad remembers her asking him for serial numbers off the back of the stove to fill in the required papers. After the fire when my dad went to make his claim he was told that the wood stove was not on the policy and he may not be covered. The broker remembers her reporting the stove but claims they did not receive the papers.
Here's where the frustration begins:
We waited four months to hear from the Insurance Company as to whether my dad was covered or not. We made weekly phone calls only to be told to be patient and that it was still under investigation. In the meantime my dad lived with my younger brother and relied on friends and family to supply him with clothes . His independence was completely taken away from him. Because of the wonderful support of his community he was able to purchase a holiday trailer to live in. He chose to live in the yard with the burnt down wreckage as his view. We were not able to clean up the site until the investigation was completed. Finally we felt we had no choice but to approach a lawyer for legal advice. The lawyer told us they would most likely not pay a cent. Insurance companies look for ways not to pay. Our next step was to go public and at least make others aware. We wrote a letter to the editor and contacted our MLA and Insurance Ombudsman.
After we did this things seemed to change for the good for some reason. The Insurance Company agreed to pay. Our dad did not receive the total amount on his policy.
As you can imagine this took quite a toll on our Dad. The stress was hard for all of us to deal with let alone an 81 year old man. In October 2006, 3 weeks after he moved into his new home, my dad had a heart attack and passed away on October 11, 2006.
This story may have elements of bitterness and sarcasm towards insurance companies and for this we make no apologies. We are very bitter. Our dad paid insurance premiums for over 40 years with the same company. His claim was a very small amount in the scheme of things. The way in which he was treated was unacceptable.
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