Help please re: insurance claim against local council

Ellie007

Hi, no idea if this is in the right place! Back in Feb we suffered damage to our garden which we believe the Council to be responsible for.  We went through their insurance department and filled in a claims form, which was eventually acknowledged by their insurance company about a month later.  We were advised at that point that the insurance company had 90 days to investigate liability and respond to us.  That period has now expired, and the insurance company, who operate on behalf of the council, has advised that the council has not responded to any of their requests for documents in order to determine liability, and therefore have not been able to move the claim forward.
Would anyone be able to advise where we stand legally, and what our next action should be please? Many thanks. 

bris

Legally you have the right to sue the council in court. Without a court order the council can and will ignore you. The insurance isn't just going to admit liability on the councils behalf on your say so.

So your next action is taking the council to court and proving your case if they defend it.

daveyjp

Responding to insurance claims may be a low priority at the moment for local authorities.

E-mail the Chief Exec and head it "complaint".  It will get to where it needs to go.

Ellie007

Many thanks for your advice.  I do appreciate how busy the council is at the moment.  

Their claims handling agent advised ‘We can confirm that our investigations have commenced and we will revert in accordance with the Civil Procedure Rules 1998. Please note that we have a maximum of 90 days from the date of acknowledgement of the claim within which to investigate and determine liability.’

  I have tried to find out what the situation is under those rules when this period does run out, as is the case, so appreciate your comments.  I will continue to wait for a response and will send correspondence directly to the council regarding this, as advised.  

MovingForwards

@Ellie007

They have told you they need 90 days to investigate and let you know if they admit / deny liability, it's standard with the council and their legal team.

The virus caused chaos in March and stripped things back to bare bones, hence why there is a delay now.

Under CPR rules you have to act reasonably and follow the spirit of it if it's a small claim you would eventually bring, if it's fast track / multi track you follow CPR rules to the letter as it gets expensive if either side mess up.

The next reasonable step would be to commence court proceedings, but that wouldn't be reasonable to do at the moment, due to the virus. It could be argued due to the virus whilst the 90 days have gone, they probably haven't been able to use those 90 days as they would pre-virus days.

I'm assuming you haven't taken legal advice as your advisor would be telling you the process.

What is it that's happened and why do you blame the council? 

Ellie007

Many thanks.  I fully intend to be reasonable, and haven’t spoken to a legal advisor, but I do appreciate your help in understanding where I stand. 

Very briefly, a tree approximately 30 feet fell from council property into my garden, crushing the boundary steel fence and various outbuildings.  The council responded quickly in removing the tree, with the tree operatives confirming that it was in very poor and rotten condition, hence it falling.  The council then passed on their claims form to me so that I could reclaim the costs that I’ve incurred associated with the repairs and replacement necessary, which I completed and then the council instructed their agents to investigate.  

So by the sound of it I need to wait a ‘reasonable amount of time’ before pursuing further.  If I hear nothing by then I guess I’ll need to either give up on the claim or instruct a legal advisor.  Many thanks again for your help. 

MovingForwards

It doesn't sound like a small claim (under £10k) to rectify what has happened (put you back in the position you were before the tree fell).

I would be working out the time from when it happened to lockdown, then from when allowing a reasonable time for that department to be functional with staff working from home at a decent capacity to 90 days. Another one or two months would be more than reasonable if you were doing it yourself from start to finish eg if it's under £10k, with a few prompts in between.

With councils they undertake inspections and have to do them at a certain frequency, plus there will be any reports of issues from the public. What has been done, what was planned etc. The document you will receive is going to be quite a few pages, it's never just a one page report for an investigation.

Do you have any photos or anything to show the condition of the tree prior to it falling or when it fell? As that will assist your case if it shows it was a problem tree. 

Councils always say fill in the form, as they, or the legal team, investigate all claims and generally it does take the 90 days due to having to contact different departments, wait for records to be pulled etc.

If you think, or have quotes to show the repairs / damage cost will be more than £10k, check your home insurance to see if you have legal cover.

Ellie007

Many thanks, that’s extremely helpful.  Yes, I took photos of the tree when it fell, and when the tree operatives were cutting it and shredding it for removal.  You can see the condition clearly from the photos.

The handlers said they’d requested details of the maintenance and inspection records for the tree, which is what they haven’t received yet.

It happened just over six weeks before lockdown, so I’ll leave it for another six weeks from the expired deadline and then pursue more rigorously.  That seems fair.  I kept the claim as reasonable as possible - just materials only and no charge for our time in rebuilding.  So I am happy to continue being reasonable.  Let’s hope they respond soon. 

Many thanks  again.

MovingForwards

That all sounds very reasonable.
Do come back to this if you need more info / guidance as I didn't want to swamp you with everything. Hopefully it will get sorted out without having to take it further.