Claim against Professional indemnity insurance of contractor

lyber28

Hi,

Not sure if i have got the correct section. So apologies if it is not.

We want to claim against a project management company for bad job under their Professional indemnity insurance. As it is construction dispute, we cannot go to court unless we go through the whole preaction protocol process.

I have raised a claim which the company is not passing on to their insurers. Not doing so will give the insurance company a get out clause as any claim should be notified immediately. The company is willing to fold for some reason rather than hand over to insurance just out of spite.

Is there any way to engage the insurers directly as i am afraid I will lose out if the company folds.

Any help appreciated

ValHaller

Let them fold and pursue the administrator of the dissolved company, who will have recourse to the insurance. If the administrator does not claim on the insurance, then you might have a claim against the administrator directly.
Jump through the hoops and do the preaction stuff. I doubt there is much more to do than the CPR's require.

lyber28

it is a one man company. Not sure if any administrators will get involved. That said i have no clue what happens when a company folds.

InsideInsurance

You cannot claim off of their insurance, its theirs not yours. You have to claim from them and it is then their choice if they enact their insurance or settle the matter privately.

ValHaller

lyber28 wrote: »

it is a one man company. Not sure if any administrators will get involved.

If the company folds there has to be an administrator????

Plus, if you have a court claim running, if the company restarts, you can name the old and the new companies and the proprietor and say that they folded when you claimed against them in court.

hollydays

Perhaps they don't have insurance

arcon5

ValHaller wrote: »

If the company folds there has to be an administrator????

No there doesn't. They can apply to have the company struck off, in which case op can object. If op objects she can apply to the courts to have it liquidated, thus an official receiver assigned.

Administration and liquidation completely different routes.

Plus, if you have a court claim running, if the company restarts, you can name the old and the new companies and the proprietor and say that they folded when you claimed against them in court.

Rubbish. The new company would be a separate legal entity and carried no liability for old companies debts. The director may be held to account by a receiver or liquidator if appointed, but that depends on the circumstances.


Op -- are you sure they even have insurance?

ValHaller

arcon5 wrote: »

Plus, if you have a court claim running, if the company restarts, you can name the old and the new companies and the proprietor and say that they folded when you claimed against them in court.

Rubbish. The new company would be a separate legal entity and carried no liability for old companies debts. The director may be held to account by a receiver or liquidator if appointed, but that depends on the circumstances.

Rubbish yourself. You are making me out as mistaken for something I did not say. I am not so totally stupid as to think that the new company carries any liability for the old company. Please read it again and take it literally.

What I am suggesting is that OP could inflict some reputational damage on the proprietor without fear from libel laws. The threat might discourage the proprietor from folding his business.

comeandgo

I take it the company does trade as a Ltd company and not sole trader?

ValHaller

arcon5 wrote: »

No there doesn't. They can apply to have the company struck off, in which case op can object. If op objects she can apply to the courts to have it liquidated, thus an official receiver assigned.

Administration and liquidation completely different routes.

The net effect is the same. I take it that when you say 'they' you mean the company itself can apply to be struck off. Well fair enough, OP can object - and an outstanding claim is probably a good reason to object.

The net effect is that OP does have some means of getting to a point that an administrator can access the Indemnity Insurance - if any.

My you are picky and tetchy tonight, striking down everything with a flat NO rather than taking the idea and filling it out to see how OP can extract some advantage from a difficult situation.

lyber28

Thanks all for the inputs. They are a limited company and have checked they have valid PII insurance as a part of the contract. Struggling to understand why they would not engage the insurers.