claiming on flat insurance

anna1963

I have two flats, leasehold, one above the other, in a block of three flats. I insure the flats (including the one that isn't mine because an elderly lady lives there who struggles with bills, and I thought it would be easier if they are all insured with the same company). Although they are all insured with the same company, Sainsbury's, they are separate with separate policy numbers.
The top floor flat has leaked (bathroom) and caused the ceiling (bathroom) in the middle flat to collapse. We are looking at the cause at the moment - whether it was a pipe or worn grouting. Nothing indicated that this was about to happen. If it's a leak from a pipe, the insurance will pay for the damage but not the repair to the pipe. If it's worn grouting, the insurance won't pay for the top flat damage, but will pay for the middle flat.
Either way, the fault is with the top flat. What I want to know is, can I claim just through the top flat policy - that way incurring "only" £500 excess? The insurance company says that I have to claim for the damage to the middle flat through that policy, and any damage for the top flat through that flat's policy = 2 x £500.
My other question is, if they won't pay for the top flat if it's worn grouting, and the claim is made through the middle flat's insurance will they then mark it against the top flat - because if they were two difference insurance companies, you might claim against your own who would then claim against the other company to recover costs. It would then show as a claim being made against both policies, whereas if I could only claim from one policy, this would look better at renewal time? I'm not sure the insurance company will even do this, although I did point out to them the last time I was involved in a car accident, it wasn't my fault and the other driver's car insurance dealt with everything.
Any advice would be gratefully received!

forgotmyname

Even with a single company you would need to ask the question would they class this as several claims and require the excess paying for each aspect of it.

rs65

anna1963 wrote: »

I insure the flats (including the one that isn't mine because an elderly lady lives there who struggles with bills, and I thought it would be easier if they are all insured with the same company).

Are you sure you are doing this right? You insure a flat that belongs to someone else? You might be better off speaking to a local broker and seeing if a residential property owners policy is available.

anna1963 wrote: »

I'm not sure the insurance company will even do this, although I did point out to them the last time I was involved in a car accident, it wasn't my fault and the other driver's car insurance dealt with everything.

The point about the motor claim is that someone else was at fault, not that you weren't at fault. If you were to claim off the top flat, you need to prove negligence under the liability to others section. If you have all three policies, you may have difficulty here.

anna1963

Re the third flat, all the flats used to insure separately. We lived in the top flat and when the middle flat came up for sale, we bought it and naturally insured them with the same company. We could now look at one policy for all three flats but if this leak produces a claim on two flats, we might not be getting it any cheaper.

Looking at the leak since writing the question, it is apparent that part of the grout between tiles has failed, so this has been leaking for a while but suddenly got worse and the tenants didn't notice. The extent of the dampness is only apparent now that the ceiling is missing. So if the fault lies entirely with the top flat, can the claim come off that policy, rather than off the middle one which claims off the top one. Not so much the double excess, more that I have 2 claims on my insurance.

I have another question. I'm debating whether it is worth claiming at all, since most of the work to be done will be on the top floor. But what about the floor joists? They will need to be supported as they got very wet over a period of time. If they are part of the middle floor claim, then it is worth making a claim, but if they fall under the top floor responsibility, then all I have for the middle floor is replastering. With a £500 excess, it might not be worth it.

Does anyone know what the legal divide is for floor /ceiling joists?

Thanks