Help with contents/buildings insurance, please!!

HelenaN

I returned home late yesterday from an evening out to find two policeman in my flat and the metal front door bashed in. The s bend under my sink had apparently leaked downstairs into my neighbour's flat causing damage to walls, ceilings and his duvet.He had called the police and firebrigade who took the decision to force entry. He has sent me a terse note stating he expects me to take responsibility for sorting everthing out via my insurance. We both have contents insurance and as leaseholders with our local authority also have buildings insurance. An emergency carpenter arrived to put a temporary padlock on the door and said the council would be able to replace it tho I would be charged.When I rang them this morning, they said they did not offer this service to leaseholders. I have contacted my contents insurers who also happen to be the local authority and they do not seem willing to allow my neighbour to claim via my insurance and are vague about whether replacing my door would be covered. I am wondering will he need to claim under his own policy first. My nerves are in shreds and no-one seems to be able to explain what I need to do.

FlameCloud

He can realistically only claim off of your insurance if he can prove negligence (there are others, but these are rare) against you. As the leak was stopped almost immediatly it would seem there is little he could do. You should advise him to claim off of his own policy and then if his insurers think there is a case they will approach your insurers. You are not responsible for his excess this way.

Regarding the front door- it would normally be the buildings insurance that would deal with this.

gregd_3

You may not be covered for your door.

Damage caused by forced entry by emergency services usually only covers dealing with medical emergencies.

Your insurers might be lienient (spellcheck) and agree to cover it as part of the damage caused by the burst pipes claim but they are not under any obligation to.

alistair.long

You say you are leasing, are your renting also? if you are renting then the landlord will have to repair it for you for free, and if they dont then get a letter from them.
Then give this letter to the Police who should try not to pay for it.

The alternative is to get a few estimates and then take them to court and reclaim it back, ts not gauranteed unless it is proven that they waited long enough but you never arived.

Personally I do see it as a insurance claim and if your not renting then you will be responsible.
If you are renting then you normally automatically have insurance,
If you have insurance the person downstairs will let his insurance know and then sort it out and charge your insurance.

If you donot have insurance then you should contact the person downstairs and make some kind of arrangement, as what will happen is that the insurance will make a bill and then try to recover it from you.

gregd_3

The cost of the neighbours claim will only be recoverable if you have been negligent which, if this is a one off leak you have not so their insurers will have to bear the cost of the claim and like wise if the scenario had been vice versa ie they flooded you it would be exactly the same.

HelenaN

Thank you to everyone for your useful responses. It has really helped me come to terms with this very upsetting incident. I have left a message with both my contents and building insurers to ring me urgently on Monday morning and suggested my neighbour contact his insurers.

The reason for the leak was water escaping from a join that had become loose in the s bend under my sink whilst my integrated slimline dishwasher was in the final third of a 2 hr 25 minute eco cycle. We were still at home for the first 2/3 of this and had not noticed anything. Had my neighbour's ceiling been about to collapse or my kitchen completely flooded I could have understood the police's reaction. The police stated 'the whole place could have gone up' meaning our entire block of flats. I had no idea water was so flammable.