Would landlord insurance ever want to speak to the tenant, with a landlord insurance claim

katesheet

Tenant lives in a landlords property, there has been damage to the property.

Don't want to get in too much detail but Negligence by the tenant is to be determined, which has caused damage to this property.
Will be an expensive building repair from walls to ceiling to be re-installed.

A simple question regarding the landlord contacting their insurance making a claim,
If the landlord of a tenant uses his own landlord-property landlord insurance  to make a claim against their property which the tenant resides, will the insurance company want to speak to the tenant? To get information from the tenant ? if so, in what format would they wish to communicate with the tenant?
or they never want to speak/contact to the tenant?  

If the block management insurance of the property wish to make a claim against their property repairs (using the block management insurance) which the tenant resides, will the insurance company want to speak to the tenant? To get information from the tenant ? if so, in what format would they wish to communicate with the tenant?
or they never want to speak/contact to the tenant?  

regardless of if there is negligence or not

or they will only want to speak to the landlord Only,  and the block management team only? and never require speaking to the tenant?

I am not asking about the tenants' insurance with the property,  but the landlords insurance company, and the block managements insurance company

Have you been in this situation as a tenant or landlord, and did your landlord insurance want to speak to the tenant, to hear their version of things?

SDLT_Geek

This is the same property as had the boiler explode? https://forums.moneysavingexpert.com/discussion/6240430/is-this-an-ethical-way-to-pay-this-debt-will-this-work#latest

eddddy

I guess the insurance companies will want to establish if there is a valid claim.

If it's obvious from inspecting the property that the claim is valid, then the insurers probably don't need to speak to anyone.

If the insurance company is thinking that the claim might not be valid - maybe the landlord wants to offer-up the tenant as a witness (a bit like a witness at a car accident). i.e. the landlord wants the tenant to explain what they saw, because that might help persuade the insurance company that the claim is valid.

If the landlord doesn't want to involve the tenant and/or the tenant refuses to get involved, the insurance company will have to reach its decision based on whatever other information is available.

AdrianC

If there wasn't negligence, then there's nothing for you - the tenant - to worry about. It's not your bill.

If the insurer do contact you - by phone, post, email, whatever - then simply engage fully with them. They can't hand you the bill. Only the deposit protection arbitrators can do that, up to the limit of your deposit, then a court above that figure.

Quite how the boiler can "explode", causing the electrics to "explode", needing the place to be left empty for weeks and walls to be rebuilt, I have absolutely no idea... Sounds very dramatic...
But it would take some really quite interesting action on the part of the tenant to be responsible for it. If the boiler pressure dropped, the boiler simply wouldn't fire.

frogglet

I'm intrigued too how a boiler exploded just so I can take preventative action.

Nebulous2

I grew up in a village without gas, and have never entirely trusted it. This just feeds my paranoia.......... meanwhile I’m sitting wondering if the plumber will make it through the snow with our new boiler. 

AdrianC

85% of UK homes use gas for heating and hot water... That's about 24m boilers.

How many of them "explode" each year?

davidmcn

AdrianC said:

85% of UK homes use gas for heating and hot water... That's about 24m boilers.

How many of them "explode" each year?

I'm more intrigued by how many explode due to the actions of the tenant. 

eddddy

Nebulous2 said:

I grew up in a village without gas, and have never entirely trusted it. 

FWIW, from the OP's description in the other thread, this doesn't sound gas related.

The OP says the boiler 'exploded' causing water damage (and the water caused the electrics to 'explode')

I take that to mean a pipe (or a component in the boiler) burst resulting in a massive water leak, with water getting into electrical fittings (like sockets, switches, junction boxes).

And perhaps the reference to 'negligence' is because the tenant left the flat unoccupied for a long period, and the pipes froze and burst - and/or because the tenant wasn't there to take immediate action (like turn off the water supply and/or call a plumber), the damage got a lot worse.

But it's all guesswork, unless the OP explains some more details. 


(FWIW, if the guesses above are accurate, it might be a complex situation. The buildings insurance company wouldn't pay out because the terms of the policy were breached - about leaving the property unoccupied. Therefore the LL was probably in breach of their lease covenants. The tenant may or may not have breached the terms of their AST - it depends on what the AST says. The tenant may or may not have been negligent.)

AdrianC

davidmcn said:

AdrianC said:

85% of UK homes use gas for heating and hot water... That's about 24m boilers.

How many of them "explode" each year?

I'm more intrigued by how many explode due to the actions of the tenant. 

A tiny subset of the tiny number that explode at all.

frogglet

Can't see a burst water pipe causing a boiler to explode. Wonder if they tried to ignite it with a match.