Chubb Sued for $60M by Owners of Ohio Mansion Gutted by Fire

The owners of a $4 million suburban Ohio mansion that burned to the ground last year are suing their insurance company for almost $60 million, saying it didn’t honor their claims. Court documents show homeowners Jeffrey and Maria Decker sued Chubb National Insurance Co. in Hamilton County Common Pleas Court.

The lawsuit says the insurer, based in Warren, N.J., gave no reasonable justification for not honoring the couple’s insurance claims. It says the insurance company or its agents operated in bad faith, and it seeks more than $14 million for breach of contract and more than $44 million for damages including financial loss of policy payments.

The county auditor had listed the home as being worth more than $4 million.

Chubb doesn’t comment on claims or pending litigation, spokesman Mark Schussel said.

The fire at the 10,000-square-foot mansion in the upscale Indian Hill area sent flames shooting more than 30 feet into the air and took several hours to extinguish. It gutted the home, leaving behind only a charred frame. Firefighters said a fire hydrant at the home didn’t provide enough water to put out a blaze of that magnitude.

The January 2014 fire caused significant if not total damage to the 22-room home’s structure, personal property and automobiles, the lawsuit says.

The cause of the fire hasn’t been determined. The Decker family wasn’t home at the time, and no one was injured.