Leak from my flat into flat below

Pixie5740

Thrugelmir wrote: »

Isn't that how the majority of insurance claims arise.

Indeed which is why the owner of the flat that has been damaged by the leak should make a claim on their insurance not the owner of the flat the leak originated from unless it can be proved that they were negligent.

Soundgirlrocks

richdeniro wrote: »

We have buildings insurance through the management company of the property but upon looking at details I didn't bother claiming on the insurance as the plumber cost £200 and the excess on the insurance for water damage was £350.

You need to notify who ever the building management company is, normally the building insurance policy is the same police for your flat as the the flat below so "my insurance" / "their insurance" is irrelevant, the claim needs to be made on the building insurance. With regards to the excess I suspect that you will have to pay as the damage originated from your flat, but again the management agent should be able to assist.

Pixie5740

Soundgirlrocks wrote: »

You need to notify who ever the building management company is, normally the building insurance policy is the same police for your flat as the the flat below so "my insurance" / "their insurance" is irrelevant, the claim needs to be made on the building insurance. With regards to the excess I suspect that you will have to pay as the damage originated from your flat, but again the management agent should be able to assist.

It was an accident therefore the OP is not liable and anything offered is goodwill not a legal requirement. It depends on what sort of damage was done as to what sort of insurance is required. Some or all of the damage might be covered by continents insurance which what the leaseholder below would need to claim on...their continents insurance not the OP's.

MrsNubs

Pixie5740 wrote: »

Some or all of the damage might be covered by continents insurance which what the leaseholder below would need to claim on...their continents insurance not the OP's.

I presume you mean contents insurance rather than continents insurance

richdeniro

Pixie5740 wrote: »

It was an accident therefore the OP is not liable and anything offered is goodwill not a legal requirement. It depends on what sort of damage was done as to what sort of insurance is required. Some or all of the damage might be covered by continents insurance which what the leaseholder below would need to claim on...their continents insurance not the OP's.

No contents damage - Literally a hole in the ceiling about the size of a football.

Soundgirlrocks

Pixie5740 wrote: »

It was an accident therefore the OP is not liable and anything offered is goodwill not a legal requirement. It depends on what sort of damage was done as to what sort of insurance is required. Some or all of the damage might be covered by continents insurance which what the leaseholder below would need to claim on...their continents insurance not the OP's.

Contents insurance will not cover plaster/paint repairs etc which is what OP said was damaged.

The damage originated from the OP's property (their poorly maintained pipes) therefor they are responsible for the excess - think about it as if it were a car accident. Car A is sat at traffic lights, Car B hits Car A because their breaks failed, Car B is responsible for the accident. Car B's insurance would ultimately pay the excess on Car A's policy (it might be car A pays and then their insurance claims it back from B on A's behalf).

Ultimately OP could be difficult and it would be for the owner of the flat downstairs to take them to small claims court to claim the excess back but cheaper and simpler to pay it now.

richdeniro

Due to the letting agent being so difficult I am tempted to leave out the goodwill gesture and just reply with:

Hi There
Due to the leak being an accident and beyond my control I am not negligent and so am not liable for the insurance claim.
Kind regards.

Any thoughts?

Pixie5740

Soundgirlrocks wrote: »

Contents insurance will not cover plaster/paint repairs etc which is what OP said was damaged.

The damage originated from the OP's property (their poorly maintained pipes) therefor they are responsible for the excess - think about it as if it were a car accident. Car A is sat at traffic lights, Car B hits Car A because their breaks failed, Car B is responsible for the accident. Car B's insurance would ultimately pay the excess on Car A's policy (it might be car A pays and then their insurance claims it back from B on A's behalf).

Ultimately OP could be difficult and it would be for the owner of the flat downstairs to take them to small claims court to claim the excess back but cheaper and simpler to pay it now.

It doesn't matter how many times you say the OP is liable, legally he is not because it was an accident. I don't need to think about it or compare the OP's situation with a car accident. You're comparing apples with oranges.

Pixie5740

MrsNubs wrote: »

I presume you mean contents insurance rather than continents insurance

You presume correctly.....bloody autocorrect. At least "continents" is an improvement on "sex". A text that should have read "see you at six" somehow became "see you for sex."

eddddy

richdeniro wrote: »

Due to the letting agent being so difficult I am tempted to leave out the goodwill gesture and just reply with:

Hi There
Due to the leak being an accident and beyond my control I am not negligent and so am not liable for the insurance claim.
Kind regards.

Any thoughts?

If you want, I guess you could add a link to some relevant information. e.g. This Insurance company's page about water leaks:

...the upstairs flat owner would need to be proved legally negligent in their actions to be held responsible for the costs. In most cases, the leak is just an unfortunate accident or unplanned incident in which case no one can be held legally responsible.

Link: https://www.ashburnham-insurance.co.uk/claims/escape-of-water-leaks-in-flats/