Claiming off neighbours contents Insurance

Lucky131313

Hi

I live in a very large converted house that has 8 flats, we are all directors of the management company and we also own the Freehold.

We purchase our building insurance through the management company which covers the whole building. And as individual flat owners we all have to purchase our own contents insurance which has nothing to do with the management company.


A neighbour above me recently hired some rougue builders that didn’t even speak English, they caused a lot of issues but one of them was they caused a big leak into our flat which damaged the ceiling, carpet and sofa.

Now I don’t want to claim on the building insurance because it will raise the premium for all of us in the house including myself.

Can I claim against the neighbours contents insurance or simply just sue them via small claims?

I have recently won a small claims court action , so am happy with this route if needs be.

I desperately don’t want to claim from our building insurance as our premiums are already insane due to some previous claims plus I really feel the neighbour is heavily to blame due to hiring some moronic builders.

Can I simply refuse to claim from our building insurance and insist on using the neighbours contents insurance or is small claims my best bet..although won’t the judge simply say I should have claimed from the building insurance ?

Any advice greatly appreciated

Chickenlips

Under which section of their contents policy do you intend to claim?

pramsay13

You can't claim from their contents insurance simply because you want to.
If your own contents are damaged you would claim from your own contents insurance.
If it's the fabric of the building that is damaged you would claim from the building insurance.
I doubt you would be successful with a small claim as you would have to prove they have been negligent.

uk1

Lucky131313 wrote: »

Hi

I live in a very large converted house that has 8 flats, we are all directors of the management company and we also own the Freehold.

We purchase our building insurance through the management company which covers the whole building. And as individual flat owners we all have to purchase our own contents insurance which has nothing to do with the management company.


A neighbour above me recently hired some rougue builders that didn’t even speak English, they caused a lot of issues but one of them was they caused a big leak into our flat which damaged the ceiling, carpet and sofa.

Now I don’t want to claim on the building insurance because it will raise the premium for all of us in the house including myself.

Can I claim against the neighbours contents insurance or simply just sue them via small claims?

I have recently won a small claims court action , so am happy with this route if needs be.

I desperately don’t want to claim from our building insurance as our premiums are already insane due to some previous claims plus I really feel the neighbour is heavily to blame due to hiring some moronic builders.

Can I simply refuse to claim from our building insurance and insist on using the neighbours contents insurance or is small claims my best bet..although won’t the judge simply say I should have claimed from the building insurance ?

Any advice greatly appreciated

You claim for the damage to the fabric of the building from the buildings insurance and the contents damage from your contents insurance. If you wish instead to sue your neighbour for negligence consult and pay for a solicitor. If your only evidence of negligence is that the workman didn’t speak English then you will lose.

angrycrow

If the workmen caused the leak due to their negligent working practices you would sue them and in turn their insurer (if they have one) would have to pick up the cost. Ask your neighbour for the details 9f the builder they hired.

EdGasketTheSecond

angrycrow wrote: »

If the workmen caused the leak due to their negligent working practices you would sue them and in turn their insurer (if they have one) would have to pick up the cost. Ask your neighbour for the details 9f the builder they hired.

No that is not right at all. If your neighbour has caused damage then you claim off your neighbour. Let the neighbour decide which insurance to use, or whether to sue their builders, or whether to pay for the damage themselves. There is no way that you need to get involved with their builders!


Advise your neighbour of the damage and that you will be getting two estimates and presenting them with the lower of the two for settlement. Your neighbour will then pass that on to their insurers assuming they were insured. It is usually the neighbour's contents insurance that would pay for liability to third parties. I am afraid much of the above advice from other posters is incorrect.

Keep_pedalling

I doubt if contents insurance covers 3rd party damage. If the OP claimed against the owners I would have thought they would simply pass it to the building insurers so the OP would be still in the position he is trying to avoid.

uk1

Keep_pedalling wrote: »

I doubt if contents insurance covers 3rd party damage. If the OP claimed against the owners I would have thought they would simply pass it to the building insurers so the OP would be still in the position he is trying to avoid.

Household insurance often covers Personal Liability insurance.

Personal liability insurance protects you and your family in the event that you are held responsible for bodily injury or property damage to a third party. Personal liability covers the legal costs or damages that you are required to pay in compensation as a result.

BoGoF

uk1 wrote: »

Household insurance often covers Personal Liability insurance.

You would first of all need to show the neighbour has personal responsibilty. In this case are they?

uk1

BoGoF wrote: »

You would first of all need to show the neighbour has personal responsibilty. In this case are they?

They may or may not do, but that isn’t the issue. The issue is that the OP is most unlikely to be able to PROVE that they were negligent in choosing the workman that caused the damage ... hence my earlier post.

BoGoF

uk1 wrote: »

They may or may not do, but that isn’t the issue. The issue is that the OP is most unlikely to be able to PROVE that they were negligent in choosing the workman that caused the damage ... hence my earlier post.

I agree totally. Hiring a workman who turns out to be useless will be virtually impossible to prove aa negligent.