Fire Watch Insurance Claim

Missing Logs Void 1.2M Fire Insurance Claim

A midnight fire gutted a 200 room hotel in Texas last year. The flames started in a laundry chute during a sprinkler outage and raced through three floors. Total property damage, 1.2 million dollars. The carrier denied the entire claim, not because arson was suspected, but because the hotel could not produce a single fire watch log from the night of the outage.

Why the Logs Mattered

The policy contained a standard endorsement, “Protective Safeguards Endorsement PG 04 04,” which states that if a fire protection system is impaired, the insured must maintain fire watch as required by applicable codes. Failure to do so voids coverage for any loss that occurs during the impairment.

Adjusters reviewed security footage and found no guard on patrol after 11 p.m. They also discovered a handwritten logbook with entries stopping at 10:45 p.m. and resuming at 6 a.m. the next day. Seven hours of blank paper equaled seven hours of zero coverage.

The Adjuster’s Checklist

• Time stamped video proof of patrols
• GPS or signature evidence for each round
• Continuous coverage with no gaps longer than 30 minutes
• Photo or thermal proof of hazard zones
• Immediate notification to carrier when impairment began

The hotel provided none of the above. The claim file was stamped “Rescinded” and the ownership group faced the full repair cost plus business interruption out of pocket.

Court Reaction

The hotel sued the carrier, arguing the endorsement was ambiguous. The judge disagreed, stating the language “maintain fire watch as required” was clear and that case law in the state supported the insurer’s position. Summary judgment went to the carrier in under 90 days.

Lessons Learned

Digital logs would have saved the day. A GPS stamped patrol every 30 minutes, uploaded to the cloud in real time, would have proven continuous coverage. Even a single missed round can be fatal, but seven missing hours is impossible to defend.

Another takeaway, notify the carrier the same day the impairment starts. An email with the impairment notice and the fire watch schedule creates a paper trail that shows good faith compliance.

What You Should Do Tonight

Review your insurance policy for any protective safeguards endorsement. If it exists, verify that your fire watch vendor provides GPS logs, photo proof and immediate upload. Anything less is a gift to the adjuster.

Need court proof logs that carriers accept? Contact us and we will show you the same cloud dashboard that helped another client collect a 900k check in 14 days.