Months after Maywood church fire, pastor wants answers from State Farm to rebuild
CHICAGO (CBS) -- After a devastating Christmas fire ravaged a beloved church in the western suburbs, the community there vowed to rebuild.
But nearly five months later, not much has happened.
The pastor now placing the blame on the insurance company, telling CBS 2's Andrew Ramos that the Maywood church is being victimized once again.
"They tore this wall down just to get in the basement and they just left it like this basically," said Pastor Ronald Beamon of New Life in Christ Bible Church.
The snow is long gone and the seasons have changed. But the aftermath of a devastating fire remains at the site where New Life In Christ Bible Church in Maywood once stood.
It was on December 26, 2022 when a fire broke out in the church's basement, tearing through its foundation and destroying everything in its path.
Amid the devastation, the church's pastor, Ronald Beamon, was determined to rebuild.
"As much as it hurts, I know God is still in control," Beamon said.
The unforeseen obstacles, namely with their insurance company State Farm, the pastor said, have prevented the congregation to move forward.
"It's unbelievable that it's been this hard. We feel like we are being victimized twice," Beamon said.
According to Pastor Beamon, while State Farm has footed the bill for some losses including church musical instruments and the building's pending demolition, covering the cost of the building has been in limbo.
And instead of answers, he said State Farm is dragging its own investigation, even after the Maywood Fire Department finalized its report, declaring the cause of the fire was "undetermined."
"We want to know as much as the insurance company wants to know what happened. How did it start?" asked Beamon.
In a statement to CBS 2, a State Farm spokesperson said they are actively working this claim, saying in part: "Some claims can take longer due to their complexity as we thoroughly investigate the cause of loss."
For Pastor Beamon and his church, which is currently leaning on funds from a GoFundMe page prayers and a hint of pessimism are all he has.
"It's extremely frustrating to have paid insurance every year to be at this point where you're being treated like you have no insurance at all," Beamon said.
State Farm sent CBS 2 a statement regarding the Maywood church fire:
Due to our company privacy policy, we can't speak to the specifics of any individual customer claim. I can share that we are actively working this claim and have been in recent communication with our customer to provide the latest updated information to them and their attorney.
Each claim is unique, and we work with our customers to help them understand the facts of their loss, identify their applicable coverage, and ultimately resolve their claim. Some claims can take longer due to their complexity as we thoroughly investigate the cause of loss.