Claiming for damage to door broken by police

elizabethc14

My husband's uncle was taken into hospital just before Christmas. The next day someone reported that he hadn't been seen and called the police. They broke into his house in case he was lying injured. His double glazed front door needs to be replaced at a cost of £1200. His insurance company have told him he is not covered. I don't know which Co. he is with but I would have thought he would have some sort of claim in the circumstances. Are there any insurance experts out there?

raskazz

Some policies will cover emergency forced entry whilst others will not.

The only way to find out is to read the policy wording, in particular the buildings section and possibly also the general exceptions.

arlybarly

1200 seems VERY steep for a front door. i paid 399 for mine a few months ago supplied and fitted and mine is not a standard size but bigger.

msmicawber

Have you asked the Police whether you can claim compensation from them since they did the damage, albeit in good faith? They can only say no (and, unlike insurance companies, are open every day).

fifi35

Hi, if you write to your police HQ and explain the circs they will probably foot the bill.

This is a different scenario to police breaking down the door of a criminal to effect an arrest or preserve evidence.

Good luck.

Smi1er

Why should the Police pay It was done in good faith.

One however could question why they just didn't smash a window:o

raskazz

I'm fairly sure that the police won't pay as they had good reason to break the door.

A friend of mine once went out and accidentally left a fairly morbid record on repeat. A neighbour heard it and called the police as they thought he had committed suicide! He came back to find his door broken off and two policemen sitting in his living room - they wouldn't compensate him for the damage.

Lexxi

I used to work in housing and I know that if a warrant was executed and an arrest made which led to a conviction then they wouldn't pay out. If there wasn't a conviction then the police would usually cover the cost.
You could try calling into or phoning your local station. I did have an address to write to for compensation/reimbursements but it may be long gone as I did have a spring clean last week, if I can track it down I will

Spirit_2

The door to a flat we own was broken down by the police in a life and death situation.

The buildings insurance is part of the annual service charge, and the management company have said replacing the door in these circumstances is not covered. We had expected the insurers to pay for this, we have met the costs ourselves.

Are we over optimistic in expecting the buildings insurance to cover this?

dacouch

Many building policies include cover for damage by the emergency services (Some limit it to the Fire Service).

Do you have a copy of the Policy wording for your cover, if so you should be able to find if it's covered (A lot of management companies try to fob claims off to save themselves the hassle or to try to keep claims off the policy)

Spirit_2

I will ask for a copy of the policy ...up until now I had trusted the management company!