Insurance company may start proceedings in my name!

Derby2

Hi there,

I hope someone can offer advice, and I will try to keep things brief.

October 30th last year my house was flooded by a burst water main in the road. It took several hours to shut down the water, and the ground floor was flooded. Our water supplier accepted full liability, but we had to claim through our insurers.
The house renovation has now been completed and took until about April of this year for everything to be done. We asked our insurers about inconvenience payments, and they said we should write down details and they would send it on to the water company. They did that, but subsequently (several months later) called us to say it was up to us to sort it out directly with them.

We have now done this and the company has upped their offer and offered us a 'global' figure to cover uninsured losses (so I presumed). We have not yet returned the form and signed the agreement. I was uncomfortable signing as it was signing a statement along the lines of 'you hereby agree that this amount is for all losses to date and any future issues etc.'

I have just had a call from our insurers solicitors saying they are making a final offer to the water supplier (they have already rejected one) and if this is not sucessful, then they will issue court proceedings but it will be in my name.

Now on reflection, is the offer the water company has made to us for all works done (including those through the insurance), or is it completely seperate? Obviously I will check the letter more closely when I get home.

Secondly, is it normal for an insurer to use the policy holders name should court proceedings occur?

And finally, is it time for us to start getting legal advice? I told my insurers that if they wish to begin court proceedings, then we wil be seeking legal advice as I would be uncomfortable doing so without advice.

Thanks for any help you can give. I'm having minor worries as I thought this was all finally behind us!

Sorry for the long post.

Quentin

It is normal that you would be the claimant for court proceedings.

You needn't worry too much - you have solicitors working for you over this, and need not pay others for advice.

Ask your questions regarding the terms of the offer on the table directly with your solicitor. (If they are recommending issuing proceedings to get a better offer, go with the flow!). The costs will be being covered by your insurer (assuming they aappointed the solicitors).

Debt_Free_Chick

Derby2 wrote: »

I have just had a call from our insurers solicitors saying they are making a final offer to the water supplier (they have already rejected one) and if this is not sucessful, then they will issue court proceedings but it will be in my name.

Now on reflection, is the offer the water company has made to us for all works done (including those through the insurance), or is it completely seperate? Obviously I will check the letter more closely when I get home.

The solicitors appointed by the insurance company are working for you. Have you sent them a copy of the water company's offer for the uninsured losses etc? If not, you should do so as it may have a bearing on the claim that the solicitor is pursuing.

Secondly, is it normal for an insurer to use the policy holders name should court proceedings occur?

Yes. You are the one that has suffered the loss and the water company is being held responsible. The insurance company is just a middle man as far as court action is concerned.

And finally, is it time for us to start getting legal advice? I told my insurers that if they wish to begin court proceedings, then we wil be seeking legal advice as I would be uncomfortable doing so without advice.

You are getting legal advice, from the solicitor appointed by the insurance company. It could get complicated if you want to get a second opinion and you could end up with two solicitors disagreeing with eachother. however, you have to decide whether it's necessary to get what is effectively a second opinion. Do you have any doubts about what the current solicitor is doing? Are you happy with the amount being claimed?

Derby2

Thanks Quentin,

I guess I went into a bit of a blind panic. I thought everything was ok because we hadn't heard from anyone for so long so it shocked me a bit!

The thing is; regarding the uninsured losses, the solictor (appointed by RSA) said she couldn't do anything about that side of things and that it was entirely down to us to sort it out, or appoint our own solicitor. I was fine with that and thought it was going ok, but it now seems the boundaries have been blurred somewhat as she still wants to know what they have offered and what has been settled.

Is it worth us keeping hold of the agreement and not signing it until the RSA side of things are settled?

zzzLazyDaisy

Derby2 wrote: »

Now on reflection, is the offer the water company has made to us for all works done (including those through the insurance), or is it completely seperate? Obviously I will check the letter more closely when I get home.

Secondly, is it normal for an insurer to use the policy holders name should court proceedings occur?

And finally, is it time for us to start getting legal advice? I told my insurers that if they wish to begin court proceedings, then we wil be seeking legal advice as I would be uncomfortable doing so without advice.

.

Hi, to answer your questions out of order....

If it becomes necessary to go to court to recover the money from the utility company, then the court proceedings must be issued in your name. This is because even though you are insured, it is actually you who suffered loss as a result of the flood, not the insurer. This process of putting your name on the court papers is called subrogation (there will be something buried in the small print of your policy about this)

You shouldn't need to get separate legal advice as the insurer will appoint solicitors to represent you/them, but if you are uncomfortable about this, there is nothing to stop you appointing your own solicitor at your own expense. In any case, it is very unlikely to go to court, as these claims almost always settle.

Re the offer for your uninsured losses. Be very careful about signing anything that is said to be in full and final settlement as you don't want to unwittingly sign something that prevents the insurer pursuing the insured part of your claim, because that would come back on you. So I would write in big red letters that this relates only to the uninsured losses, and does not in any way affect the on-going discussions between the utility company and the insurer (but I'd also run it past the insurer's solicitor anyway)

hth

EDIT cross posted

Derby2

Hello Debt Free Chick,

Thanks for the response. We haven't sent the solicitors the letter, as they said it was down to us to sort out.

This is what they said in the first email

As you are aware, we are unable to pursue the recovery of your uninsured losses on your behalf.
You may wish to seek independent legal advice in respect of the negotiations to recover your uninsured losses.

This is what they said in an email

At this stage, the third party representatives seek to liaise directly with you in respect of your uninsured losses. Please confirm that we can provide them with your contact details. In the event that we are unable to recover your uninsured losses, we suggest that you seek independent legal advice.

This is why I am getting confused over who is responsible for what

zzzLazyDaisy

Derby2 wrote: »

The thing is; regarding the uninsured losses, the solictor (appointed by RSA) said she couldn't do anything about that side of things and that it was entirely down to us to sort it out, or appoint our own solicitor. I was fine with that and thought it was going ok, but it now seems the boundaries have been blurred somewhat as she still wants to know what they have offered and what has been settled.

Is it worth us keeping hold of the agreement and not signing it until the RSA side of things are settled?

Personally, once I'd cleared it with the solicitor, I would go ahead with the settlement of the uninsured losses - there is no reason why you should be out of pocket and in any case, they can withdraw their offer at any time.

Even tho the payment is for damage caused to your property that wasn't covered by the insurance, it would still be relevant to the claim, as it is still a part payment for the damage that has been caused by the utility company.

Quentin

You need to get this clarified by your solicitor

Reply to the second email asking for clarification of the last sentence. (ie are they pursuing the water company for your uninsured losses or not).

Also, ask what are they are considering suing the water company for (in your name).

When you have this clarified (in writing) you will know whether or not you need to instruct your own solicitors regarding the uninsured losses.

Debt_Free_Chick

Re the claim for the uninsured losses. There are two issues here ....

1. Are you satisfied with the offer made by the WC? Do you understand the offer? Do you feel you need to get legal advice?

2. Whatever the answer to (1), let the insurance company know what's going on. I fully understand that the solicitor can not help with the uninsured losses claim, but you don't want to inadvertently shoot yourself in the foot, by signing something for the uninsured losses that has an impact on the what the solicitor is doing. Just "keep them in the loop".

The solicitor is only dealing with the losses covered by the insurance.

You are dealing with the uninsured losses, unless you decide to appoint your own solicitor.

Debt_Free_Chick

Derby2 wrote: »

This is what they said in an email

At this stage, the third party representatives seek to liaise directly with you in respect of your uninsured losses. Please confirm that we can provide them with your contact details. In the event that we are unable to recover your uninsured losses, we suggest that you seek independent legal advice.

This is why I am getting confused over who is responsible for what

It's difficult to be sure just looking at this part, rather than the whole thing but it sounds as though this email was an offer from a "third party representative" to help you pursue the uninsured losses. Possibly a no-win, no fee outfit.

However, it's now largely irrelevant as you've pursued that matter yourself.

You have only one solicitor and he/she is pursuing the insured losses.

zzzLazyDaisy

I suspect that the 'third party representatives' are the utility company's representative/solicitor who has been corresponding with the OP about the uninsured losses.