legal fees claim

lizjuk

I'm trying to see if I can get my legal fees cover from my property insurance to cover the costs of taking a neighbouring land owner to court to make him comply with restrictive covenants that we hold over his property.


The insurance co want a report from an expert surveyor to fully assess the claim; without this evidence they have rejected the claim. This could cost £600-1000 and they may still find that the value we could claim would not be sufficient to meet their excess if I pay this. I believe that the contravention of the covenant is relatively easy to demonstrate - it is the value in terms of the impact on our property that is likely to be at issue.



Couple of questions arise:

1. can they really insist on this expensive expert witness statement given the cost?
2. Would a cheaper, slightly less formal report (as suggested by my surveyor in the first instance) be a sensible option to suggest to them - and could they refuse to accept this? Any suggestions for how I might pitch this to them as a compromise.
3. Any other recourse I might have to get this looked at?


A solictor has estimated a potential cost of £20k if we have to go through court proceedings so not possible to finance out of hand.



Many thanks

MovingForwards

1. Yes, an expert report can be used as evidence in court and instantly gives your insurance company the opportunity of taking legal advice from their panel solicitors to see if you have a reasonable chance of winning.

2. Ask them, but see 1 above.

3. Negotiate with the neighbouring land owner, pay for mediation etc.

lizjuk

As regards the q1, you believe then that they are within their rights to require me to spend up to 1k before they will properly assess my claim? This was the one thing that felt dodgy to me. I understand the value of the report; it was the barrier it placed on making an effective claim that seemed questionable to me.