After Stiffing Homeowners Out Of Indemnification Damages For Their Burnt-Out Home, Embarrassed Insurance Company Changes Tune, Quickly Coughs Up The Cash After Local Media Consumer Troubleshooter Report Goes Viral

In Salt Lake City, Utah, KUTV-TV Channel 2 reports:

• Don and Paola Johnson's home is finally coming together. Way back in January 2014, a fire erupted that burnt out their home. They and their two daughters have spent nearly two years living on the couches of friends and relatives. Now they are one week away from being able to move back in.
  
  "We're very excited," Paola said. "We're very happy to have life back."
  
  They are especially happy because, as Get Gephardt reported in July, it seemed they would be forced to abandon their home. The rebuild had been halted because their insurance company had decided they were done paying.
  
  Farmers Insurance determined Don and Paola had violated their insurance contract by refusing to give "key information" about how the fire started, a Farmers spokesperson said.
  
  Both Don and his lawyer told Farmers Insurance that no one was home when the fire broke out so they did not know what ignited the blaze. They suggested Farmers should look at the fire marshal report which determined the fire started due to furnace failure. Specifically, the marshal determined there were no human factors contributing to the fire.
  
  Get Gephardt reported on Farmers' decision to halt the claim as well as the insurance giant's refusal to budge even with Don and Paola begging that they be allowed to answer questions and provide and any so-called "key information" that they could.
  
  That story went viral.
  
  Get Gephardt heard from a number of Farmers agents who complained the report was hurting their business. Get Gephardt also heard from a number of insurance customers who said they were outraged -- several of whom said they would be cancelling their insurance policies with Farmers.
  
  And, a few days later, Don says he heard from Farmers. "I was really caught off guard," he said.
  
  Don says Farmers asked him some more questions and, this time, the insurance giant was satisfied with his answers. Farmers reopened his and Paola's claim. The call came just in time. Don says they only had enough money left to make one more mortgage payment after which they assumed they would lose the home to foreclosure.
  
  "It was the biggest relief on both our shoulders," he said. "We worked, you know, 10 years paying for this house and we were this close to losing it. Then we realized we were finally going to get our lives back." "We're very grateful that we had a positive turnout and we're grateful to [Get Gephardt] as well," Paola said.
  
  But through their relief and gratitude, Don and Paola say they are still frustrated that it took a news story and public outcry to get their insurance company to pay attention.
  
  A Farmers spokesperson said Farmers was, "pleased to be able to work with our customer to resolve this matter."

Source: After outcry, insurance giant opts to pay for customers' burnt-out home.