Water escape claim and possible legal action

DiamondJoe

I own one flat in a converted house of 4 and we have building's insurance with 4 policy holders including me, and a shared freehold. A couple of months ago there was a leak from my flat to the one below resulting in some damage to lights and a ceiling. When it happened the people below me said they'd contact me to discuss what to do next.

I've been handed an estimate this week (dated January) for roughly £600 (repair to lights, redecorated ceiling). However some of the work has actually already been done without my knowledge.

Am I right in thinking the insurers should have been informed BEFORE any work was done?

Because they weren't, and supposing the insurers refuse the claim, what recourse would the flat owner below me have to recover the money from me?

He has not informed me of what the damage was prior to commencing repairs or obtained any other estimates, and he has not informed the insurers.

If the point of buildings insurance is to cover repairs that would otherwise be too costly to meet from your own pocket then it seems to me as though he has assumed a) that I would simply hand over a cheque without questioning the amount (and I suspect I may be being overcharged and the amount is a "creative" estimate), and b) that I actually have £600 of my own money to cover it, which I don't. So what could he do if the insurance is refused because he hasn't followed the procedure?

And as the damage is in their flat and they've paid for repairs, would they themselves not need to make the claim to the insurers and provide evidence of costs etc?

(as an aside - I know that the estimate he has provided me with is legally dodgy, if it were to be submitted to an insurer, but I assume that as we're all policy holders, we'd all be in trouble for submitting it and not just him?)

Any thoughts?

InsideInsurance

For you to be liable they'd have to prove that you were negligent. Simply because the water came from your flat doesnt mean you are.

What actually happened to cause the leak?

Normally insurers would like to have the opportunity to inspect prior to repairs being done but with many basic repairs like this it simply isnt cost effective. £600 repairs net of say a £200 excess means the insurers only going to be paying out £400 and with an inspection costing up to £150 there simply isnt the space in the numbers to make it cost effective to send someone out.

DiamondJoe

It was a washer or something on the tap under the kitchen sink that had broken or come loose and there was a drip. They were on holiday and when they came back there was a leak in their room. I only knew it was dripping when they knocked on my door and told me, and I had to look for where it might be coming from and found it in the cupboard under the sink and noticed a drip from the pipe to the tap. I got a plumber out the next day to fix it for about £20.

If they've consciously chosen not to claim via insurance because they just don't want to, and just want the money from me, are there any avenues via which they could do that and it would hold up?

rs65

DiamondJoe wrote: »

If they've consciously chosen not to claim via insurance because they just don't want to, and just want the money from me, are there any avenues via which they could do that and it would hold up?

They would have to prove you were negligent to claim from you. Sounds like you weren't negligent as you fixed it promptly after being made aware.

I think they just need to make a claim on the buildings insurance. Whether they should've spoken to insurers before getting repairs done is frankly their concern.

DiamondJoe

Thanks for that, sounds hopeful

wially

The person below you would need to claim. Ideally insurers would like to see the damage before, but again the claim value in this instance to insurers is minimal. As long as you are not to blame and the leak was repaired as soon as possible you are fine. Ideally the person below would have notified insurers of the claim at the outset, they then may attend to assess the damage. They should also ask for your plumbers invoice/report to confirm the cause of the leak and that it was repaired.

Technically all claims need to be notified at the outset, and technically it could be deemed that the person below has prejudiced their position by proceeding with works. This would be the case especially if the claim value was higher, and upon assessment the estimate appeared overstated.

You say the estimate is dodgy? Is the contractor VAT registered? Is it handwritten or on headed paper? What level of work was involved in the redecoration below?