Neighbour's Roof Tile Damage to Car

Trodac

Hi everyone,

Just seeking some advice on an incident that has happened in the last week. A tile from my neighbour's roof fell off and landed on my car causing a big dent in the bonnet and damage to the paint. I spoke to the neighbour explaining that her roof is not safe as further debris is visible hanging off the edge. She has agreed to have a roofer look at it but states that after speaking with her home insurance that she is not liable for the car and that I have to claim it through my insurance because it is an act of god. I am trying to amicable on this and have accepted it on her word but the damage is going to be quite expensive for me to repair and I would be a shame to lose 8 years of no claims over this. Any advice would be appreciated.

huckster

Suggest that you take pictures of the neighbours roof from different angles, which will hopefully show the state it is in. This along with any statements (3rd party would be good) that the roof has been noticeably in a poor condition for a while, would be very helpful. Your Car Insurers might be able to pursue the neighbours Home Insurers to make a recovery. If they make a recovery, then this would then go down as a non fault claim. If that happens, you can also submit details of the excess paid for the neighbours Home Insurers to pay back.

That is the best way forward. But you might find your Car Insurers are not the helpful, as experience might suggest little chance in getting the neighbours Home Insurers to accept liability. If you get that response, then you would need to push them and consider other options. If you have legal cover with the Car Insurance, see if they will deal with making a case against the neighbour.

forgotmyname

I agree take photo's now before they get it repaired, Make sure photo's are date stamped on the camera.
Say nothing more about it to the neighbour. If they get roofers in take photo's proving they have had the roof repaired.

Proving they are negligent and failed to keep the roof in a safe state of repair.

On the other hand any claim even non fault ones will still be on your insurance file and will increase premiums.

Have you got a price to repair the damage?

Trodac

Thanks I really appreciate both replies and advice, price I have so far is £500 due to damage whole bonnet needs to be resprayed after removing the dents.

lisyloo

They are liable if negligent.
Was there a storm or really bad weather.

It's not completely clear whether this was bad weather.
If it just fell off that does imply there was something wrong.

Your next problem if you believe they were negligent is proving it.
The photos and any weather forecasts you can get are a starting point for this.

WhiteHorse

The neighbour is certainly liable if the roof was in bad repair and should have been attended to.

You can either claim from her directly (she settles or claims in turn from her insurers, if covered). Or you claim from your insurers and they then (in theory at least), claim from her/her insurers.

If you claim from your insurers, there is the question of your no claims. This may or may not be affected, best to enquire.

dunstonh

price I have so far is £500 due to damage whole bonnet needs to be resprayed after removing the dents.

The other problem is that by the time you pay your excess and suffer three years of increased premiums and possibly a reduction in your NCB, it will end up costing you more than the £500. It may be worth asking the neighbour to come to an agreement to cover some of the cost. Especially as she will have to declare the incident on her home insurance which could result in higher premiums for her, if you proceed with the claim.