Home insurance claim against neighbour

hagbard23

Hi,
Back in November my upstairs neighbour had a leak which came through my kitchen ceiling. As I was not at fault for the leak or the damage caused, I wanted to claim against my neighbour's insurance. I called my insurer who told me that both myself and my neighbours were paying into a block policy on the building (a Maisonette owned by a Freeholder), and that it made no difference who makes the claim as it was all part of the same policy. They asked me to get a quote and come back to them.

Due to being quite busy and also having issues finding a reliable builder for a quote, I only got one last month. I passed it to the insurer who then passed it to my insurance broker (Oval) who they said would process my claim (they hadn't told me this when I first called).

Oval have asked for another quote and told me that I will also have to pay a £500 excess. I don't see why I should have to pay this if it wasn't my fault. They said that if my neighbour puts in the claim instead, then they would have to pay whatever excess they have, rather than me having to. I spoke to my neighbour about this, and was told that they do not pay into a block policy and have no idea who my insurer is and that they have their own insurance policy altogether. This isn't the first time I've had problems with information given by Oval but I am forced to use them by the Freeholder. When I spoke to Oval again they then claimed they didn't realise my neighbour wasn't on the same policy (how can they not know that the supposed other half of a joint policy doesn't exist)! I feel like I can't really trust Oval and don't know whether the steps they are asking me to take are the right ones.

They still insist that I will have to submit the claim, and then once the work is done and I pay the £500 excess, they will try and recover it through my neighbour's insurance. They also said that the claim would increase my renewal quote. They advised that the only other option is to ask my neighbour to put the claim through on his insurance instead. He is not interested in doing this, as he says it works like car insurance and that I, as the one with the damage go to my insurer who then works it out with his. He says he doesn't get involved at all as his insurer sorts it all out for him. I can see his point, but this still doesn't seem fair that I have to run around and get quotes, then pay £500 to get this sorted and then hope my insurer can get it back later.

Is this really the correct process for a claim? If so is there anything I can do to increase my chances of getting the excess back from his insurer?

Thanks in advance.

lisyloo

How much is the cost?
You could look at jsut taking your neighbour to the small claims track in the coun ty court.
I ask how much it is because there is a limit for small claims.
No doubt once you sue him your negihbour will get his insurer involved.

Obviously this is no a recipe for neighbourly love, but if you want your excess back then you'll have to confront that issue one way or another.

You choices are - go direct i.e. through the courts.
or go via your insurer, which means you lose your excess temporarily and don't have complete control over how they handle it.
They should pursue the other party, but you aren't in control of how long they take.

The small calims track is a cheap and easy access to jsutice but you will need to check the limites.

foggytown

First of all you are mixing up two different kinds of exposures. If you claim the damage to your flat under your policy then that is a first party claim. If you try to claim against your neighbour and his policy then that's a third party claim. The difference is that, under his policy, you would have to prove that the cause of the water damage was in some way his fault, i.e. he was negligent in some way. The fact that one of his pipes leaked doesn't make him automatically responsible or liable. Can you demonstrate his liability?

If you claim under your policy then liability isn't an issue as far as your claim is concerned. You could try to reclaim the excess from your neighbour and your insurer will try to reclaim from him what they paid to you.

Quentin

hagbard23 wrote: »

Hi,
I don't see why I should have to pay this if it wasn't my fault.

Nor is it your insurance companies fault, but they will fix it for you at their expense!

You have to prove negligence to get the money out of anyone else (your neighbour or their insurer).

Can you do this?

hagbard23

The quote I've had is for £1700 in total for replacing the kitchen ceiling and also the adjoining bathroom ceiling where the leak spread, although I'm now looking to get another quote for the insurer. The general consensus I'm getting from asking people is pretty much what you've said, I can pay up now and get the insurer to claim it back, or take the neighbours to court for it.

I think I'll try the insurer first and then if that doesn't work will have to look at the small claims court. I'm looking at moving soon so goodwill with them isn't such an issue, already had it with the amount of noise they make :wall:

Many Thanks

hagbard23

foggytown wrote: »

First of all you are mixing up two different kinds of exposures. If you claim the damage to your flat under your policy then that is a first party claim. If you try to claim against your neighbour and his policy then that's a third party claim. The difference is that, under his policy, you would have to prove that the cause of the water damage was in some way his fault, i.e. he was negligent in some way. The fact that one of his pipes leaked doesn't make him automatically responsible or liable. Can you demonstrate his liability?

If you claim under your policy then liability isn't an issue as far as your claim is concerned. You could try to reclaim the excess from your neighbour and your insurer will try to reclaim from him what they paid to you.

I only have it verbally, he knew about the leak but couldn't fix it over the weekend it happened as his mains water tap was broken. He asked me if I could turn it off with mine (as each flat's main can turn of the water to both) but I didn't get a lot of info from the previous owners and to be honest don't know where it is (I tried the tap I thought most likely but it was fitted in an awkward place and I couldn't turn it even with a wrench). He basically had a bucket under the leak and one night forgot to empty it. I got up in the morning to water pouring through my kitchen ceiling.

Quentin

If you take them to court you will have to prove they were negligent, otherwise you will lose the case, have to pay all court fees and any expenses/lost wages etc claimed by the defendant.

If your insurer sees negligence here they will pursue the third party, and if successful you will be able to get your own uninsured losses back from the third party on the strength of the decision.

hagbard23

Thanks for the clarifications.