CHESAPEAKE, Va. - A house on Riddlehurst Ave was struck by lightning on Sunday morning, starting a fire in the attic. Hours later a house on Wisdom Path was struck and sparked a fire.
Fire crews worked quickly to extinguish the flames, but the homes were severely damaged and the families have been displaced.
Insurance agents spoke to News 3 about what is and is not covered in a homeowners insurance policy when it comes to lightning strikes.
Vista Cotten, co-owner of Taylor and Cotten Insurance in Chesapeake said most homeowners insurance policies have a section dedicated to lightning strike protection.
Look in the HO-3 form in the policy declarations pages to see what is covered. Often times, Cotten said, the policy will replace lightning or lightning related damaged property with the same thing or the newer version.
Homeowners are responsible for the deductible cost, however if the family is displaced they can often get coverage for that as well.
