What Happened
A group of neighborhood teens and “tweens” sneak out of their houses and break into a neighbor’s house while the neighbors are on vacation. They become intoxicated on the liquor in the house, find the homeowner’s handguns, and have “target practice" in the house. One of the kids was a foster kid.
The Claim That Followed
If you are connected to foster care in any way, it’s not hard to guess that the families of all the other kids tried to place blame on the one kid of the group who happened to be a foster kid. The family who owned the home didn’t press criminal charges. Nor did they file a civil suit, but their insurance company filed subrogation claims against the families of all the kids involved, including the foster family. The homeowner policy of the foster family denied the claim on the basis that fostering was a “business,” and the homeowner was not covered for operating a business in their home. The insurance company for the private, non profit foster family agency that had certified the foster family, denied the claim saying that there was no coverage for foster families under their policy. The insurance broker brought in an expert defense lawyer who specializes in defending foster parents, who was able to make the case with the foster family’s homeowner insurance carrier that foster parenting is not a business, and that denial of the claim would constitute bad faith. The homeowner insurance company paid the claim.