Help !

good_noodle_neighbour

I,ve just got back from a four day break and the landlady from the flat downstairs informed me that there was a leak coming from my property above. Called a plumber out and indeed there was a small pipe with a small leak which has been repaired. All of this happened today. Instantly I have offered to pay to make the damp patch in her cupboard good however she is now saying that her tennants want to claim from my contents insurance for personal belongings damaged by the leak.The leak was in a kitchen cupboard . Can they claim off my contents insurance?

vij

Yes, they are able to make a calim against the liabilty cover. Though with it being a pipe leaking that was the proximate cause the priority of any claim will go agains the buildings cover, but if there is no buildings cover in place they can claim against the personal liabilty section of the contents cover.

Just give your insurer a call to the claims department and explain the situation, they may also want the phone number of the landlady below to arrange to the settlement of any claims.

Dont worry your insurer will handle this with no issues.

McKneff

Your landlady should have buildings cover,
Shouldnt te op be contacting her first for her to ring her insurance company.

Sometimes ringing your insurance company goes down as a claim albeit a non payment claim.

I thouht that if something like this happened the person whose property has been damaged has to prove negligence or claim off their own insurance. Or have I dreamt that.

MyRubyRed

I would have thought McKneff correct in that the Landlord should contact her insurance company direct?

huckster

Agree with McKneff. For the neighbour below to make a liability claim against your policy, they would need to prove you were negligent and therefore liable. Being that this was a failure of a pipe or joint in a pipe, unless they can prove poor maintenance, they might struggle to claim against your Insurance.

Tell the neighbour and their tenants that you cannot discuss the damage to their flat/contents as this is against the terms of your policy. Your policy will say that you should not admit liability and therefore predjudice their position to defend the claim. If you did they could refuse to pay out and as you have admitted liability, you would have to pay.

Any such claim for liability for this event, is probably going to be against your Contents Insurance Personal liability cover. The reason for this, is that they would have to try to show you as personally negligent in some way. This is my understanding. Not many claims are against the Building Insurance owners liability cover, which is mainly about issues under the defective premises act. I have only had fleeting dealings with liability from a claims point, but this is what I have been led to believe, by those working in claims. If there are any posters with liability claims experience, perhaps they could clarify this.

Speak to your Contents Insurance claims department about this first and see how they want to play it.

Quentin

good_noodle_neighbour wrote: »

Instantly I have offered to pay to make the damp patch in her cupboard good in a kitchen cupboard......

Tell her you have now been advised you aren't liable or responsible for the damp patch, and she must claim off her own insurance for this as your offer was made "in ignorance" of the facts.