Vehicle damage

stevenm37

I can’t find the appropriate forum section for this topic so if a moderator can bump this if necessary that would be greatly appreciated! My partner has a car on PCP, she has gap insurance as well as fully comp. The other night the wind lifted our next door neighbors kids large outdoor trampoline up and onto her car. The damage was pretty superficial, a dent on the bonnet and wing. We’ve got a quote from a local car body shop for £380. Question is, are they responsible for paying for the repairs? We don’t want to use the car insurance as the premium will go up. Any advice would be greatly appreciated! Thanks Steve

Rainbowgirl84

Better posting in the Insurance board? Here:-


http://forums.moneysavingexpert.com/forumdisplay.php?f=21

unholyangel

You may be able to reclaim from the neighbour under tort but theres a possibility your insurance premiums may increase anyway as these are based on statistical risk analysis rather than your personal driving/claim history.

bris

Act of God so not unless you can prove they were negligent.

unholyangel

bris wrote: »

Act of God so not unless you can prove they were negligent.

It being weather related doesn't make it an act of god.

The key is whether it was extraordinary (ie a lot worse than previous storms) and that the damage could not be avoided/prevented.

Up here, high winds have taken out buses, lorries, trees, fences, trampolines, other garden furniture, wheelie bins, walls etc so your average person will either tether/weigh their stuff down or pack it away into storage. Entirely preventable/avoidable with a bit of forethought.

bris

unholyangel wrote: »

It being weather related doesn't make it an act of god.

The key is whether it was extraordinary (ie a lot worse than previous storms) and that the damage could not be avoided/prevented.

Up here, high winds have taken out buses, lorries, trees, fences, trampolines, other garden furniture, wheelie bins, walls etc so your average person will either tether/weigh their stuff down or pack it away into storage. Entirely preventable/avoidable with a bit of forethought.

Weather related does indeed make it an Act of God, it's the very definition of the term.Numerous cases of claims such as this are rejected by insurers for this very reason.


Your own insurance covers this but their insurers will reject it, proven fact.


There could indeed be a claim however if you can prove they were negligent in not having the trampoline suitably tied down as these are commonly blown away. So the probability of this happening in a high wind is also high.


You do however have to weigh up the cost of declaring this as a claim, even a no fault claim, for the next 5 years.

unholyangel

bris wrote: »

Weather related does indeed make it an Act of God, it's the very definition of the term.Numerous cases of claims such as this are rejected by insurers for this very reason.


Your own insurance covers this but their insurers will reject it, proven fact.


There could indeed be a claim however if you can prove they were negligent in not having the trampoline suitably tied down as these are commonly blown away. So the probability of this happening in a high wind is also high.


You do however have to weigh up the cost of declaring this as a claim, even a no fault claim, for the next 5 years.

Not sure where you're looking, but thats not its definition - its not an act of god purely because its weather related. An act of god is uncontrollable natural forces (not just weather btw) where the damage cannot be foreseen, prevented or avoided.

Or as Lord Hobhouse said in Transco v Stockport Metropolitan Borough Council:

Thus 'act of God' was always a common law exception. It was metaphorical phrase (like "fate") with a religious origin used to describe those events which involved no human agency and which it was not realistically possible for a human to guard against: an accident which the defendant can show is due to natural causes, directly and exclusively, without human intervention and could not have been prevented by any amount of foresight, pains and care, reasonably to be expected of him

Tom99

[FONT=Verdana, sans-serif]Unless I am mistaken I think your neighbour has also posted saying you sent them a bill for £2,500.[/FONT]
[FONT=Verdana, sans-serif]Could be someone else with the same problem on a stormy night.
[/FONT]

Tom99

Is this your neighbours thred?

https://forums.moneysavingexpert.com/discussion/5729965