car fire, found "not at fault", will ins pay if I'm sued?

What is the name of your state (only U.S. law)? Wisconsin


I parked my car outside a restaurant and picked up dinner. Came out and it was on fire. There was some minimal damage to the blacktop in the parking lot.

I had full coverage insurance with plenty of property damage coverage. The thing is my insurance wrote the restaurant a letter that they found me "not at fault" the fire was not caused by my negligence and the cause of the fire is unknown. They stated they are denying the restaurants claim for this reason.

Since the insurance found me not at fault and I get sued, will my insurance still legally represent me and pay lawyer fees?

Yes, your insurance is still obligated to provide for your defense if you are sued.

clb1265 said:

What is the name of your state (only U.S. law)? Wisconsin. . . Since the insurance found me not at fault and I get sued, will my insurance still legally represent me and pay lawyer fees?

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Even if it were to be shown that you were somehow ”at fault” in causing the fire – short of arson - your liability carrier would still be obligated to bear the legal costs in defending against a lawsuit by the restaurant owner.

But win lose or draw they know that the bill from the their attorneys will make the cost of repairing the blacktop seem like lunch money. So if the restaurant persists, most likely they will eventually settle the claim.

Two things in which insurance companies excel are (1) numbers and (2) trying to chisel people making third party claims.

Only I highly doubt the business owners insurance is going to pay - doubt there is coverage for blacktop.