Insurer refusing to accept a claim

Quentin

EdGasket wrote: »

That's not what happened when I had a fire; my neighbour claimed for their damage off my contents insurance.

If your insurer actually paid their claim then that would indicate negligence was proven to them.

Okrib

Thanks for the replies. Learn something new every day.

I'll investigate further however the tenants in the flat above admitted to my wife and I that they knew about the blocked pipe yet ran the dishwasher twice before the plumber arrived.

EdGasket

Quentin wrote: »

If your insurer actually paid their claim then that would indicate negligence was proven to them.

Wouldn't negiligence have invalidated my own claim? I didn't deliberately or negligently start a fire!

Quentin

EdGasket wrote: »

Wouldn't negiligence have invalidated my own claim? I didn't deliberately or negligently start a fire!

No.

That would mean eg. You wouldn't get paid when you claim off your car insurance following a collision which you were blamed for

EdGasket

You can have an accident without being negligent. Being negligent implies some lack of care. Anyway my insurance paid for the neighbours repairs; no-one accused me of being negligent.

Definition of negligence (dictionary.com):
noun 1. the quality, fact, or result of being negligent; neglect: negligence in discharging one's responsibilities.


2. an instance of being negligent : a downfall brought about by many negligences.


3. Law. the failure to exercise that degree of care that, in the circumstances, the law requires for the protection of other persons or those interests of other persons that may be injuriously affected by the want of such care.
adjective 4. Law. pertaining to or involving a civil action for compensation for damages filed by a person who claims to have suffered an injury or loss in an accident caused by another's negligence: a negligence suit; a large negligence award.

So i could have been negligent but by the above definition, I wasn't.

trailingspouse

1) you don't need to be insured yourself in order to claim off of their insurance.
2) you do need to prove negligence (but it sounds to me like they were indeed negligent, going solely by what you've told us)
3) it doesn't necessarily need to go to court - if you can find out their insurance details you can communicate directly with them, for the cost of a stamp. If it's clear-cut then it's easier and cheaper for the insurers to pay up than to contest it.
4) if they refuse to tell you their insurers details, then write to them (recorded delivery) saying that you intend to claim directly from them and that if you don't hear from them or their insurers within 7 days you will put it in the hands of solicitors. If they've any sense they'll pass it on to their insurers - after all, if they haven't been negligent, their insurers won't pay out, and if they have been negligent, that's what we have insurance for.