House Insurance Claim - Not at Fault

mc1980

Hi,

My neighbours dishwasher recently leaked and caused damage to our dining room walls which now need stripping, repairing as well as out floor being replaced.

Their insurance company confirmed that my insurance company should contact them to process the claim etc. However when I spoke to my insurance company they stated that this isn't their process and that the claim will be processed as my claim - therefore increasing my policy when renewed as well me not being able to reclaim my excess from my neighbour's insurance company.

The excess doesn't overly bother me, but as the repair is likely to be in excess of £6k I don't feel this should go down on my policy as my renewal will rocket.

Can anyone please advise if this is normal practice when dealing with a claim that isn't the policyholder fault.

Many thanks

Angelicdevil

I had something similar (neighbour left a tap running all day, flooded and destroyed our bathroom and the people below too :eek: ) and everything went through his (the person at fault) insurance company.

TSx

It all depends if they are considered to be legally negligent - and if you can prove it.

In almost all cases of water damage from a neighbouring property, it is very difficult to prove an element of negligence - providing they weren't aware of the issue, but once made aware stopped any further damage, they are unlikely to be considered negligent - you are not automatically responsible for the costs of rectifying any damage arising out of your activities (e.g using a dishwasher), you have to be considered neglient.

Your insurers will be best placed to make a decision about liability - after all, if they're paying out £6k - they're going to want it back!

(just to add - in the example above, as they left a tap running, there is a much better chance of arguing that they have been negligent)

*Scarlett

A leaking dishwasher can happen and it does not mean that your neighbour has been negligent - your insurer would need to pursue and prove this to recover the cost of the claim and your xs fee.

These types of things are what you have insurance for. If you had a storm damage, flood, theft, malicious damage claim etc it's not your fault but your insurance covers it.

The claim will impact your policy next year but make sure you shop around and don't just accept the renewal.

InsideInsurance

mc1980 wrote: »

Their insurance company confirmed that my insurance company should contact them to process the claim etc.

This almost certainly means they will deny liability as otherwise they would want to control the claim and deal with you directly.

As others have said, you must prove their negligence