Entire contents of house lost through fire in storage unit

ThorOdinson

Do you know how the fire started? And how it was able to spread to your belongings?

youth_leader

So terribly, terribly sorry to read of your experience.  I do hope you get some compensation to help you replace some of your items. 

My friends moved up here with Pickfords to the NE from London and their removal lorry was stolen and never recovered.  They were able to claim for furniture etc but the sentimental items were lost forever.

dunstonh

ThorOdinson said:

Do you know how the fire started? And how it was able to spread to your belongings?

It only happened earlier in the month and is being investigated for arson.

https://www.suffolk.police.uk/news/suffolk/news/news/2025/june/lowestoft---police-investigate-suspected-arson/
https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/articles/c626yl56z1ro

leafymeadow

itsthelittlethings said:

Have they told you their insurance does not cover your possessions?

Yes, only covers your possessions if you take their insurance out, which we did, but it no way covers everythng

ThorOdinson

dunstonh said:

ThorOdinson said:

Do you know how the fire started? And how it was able to spread to your belongings?

It only happened earlier in the month and is being investigated for arson.

https://www.suffolk.police.uk/news/suffolk/news/news/2025/june/lowestoft---police-investigate-suspected-arson/
https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/articles/c626yl56z1ro

That's a shame. If it was a crime there won't be liability, except for the person who did it and they aren't going to have the money to put it right.

itsthelittlethings

leafymeadow said:

itsthelittlethings said:

Have they told you their insurance does not cover your possessions?

Yes, only covers your possessions if you take their insurance out, which we did, but it no way covers everythng

I don’t really understand how it covers your possessions but doesn’t cover everything? Do you mean it covers monetary value but not sentimental value?

dunstonh

itsthelittlethings said:

leafymeadow said:

itsthelittlethings said:

Have they told you their insurance does not cover your possessions?

Yes, only covers your possessions if you take their insurance out, which we did, but it no way covers everythng

I don’t really understand how it covers your possessions but doesn’t cover everything? Do you mean it covers monetary value but not sentimental value?

A shortfall could occur if you take out insurance for say £20,000, but in reality, the contents cost £40,000.

leafymeadow

Thank you for all your comments.
The insurance company has told us that it has been proved as Arson , so no liability is taken by the storage company. Can someone explain why this is? We gave 40 years of our lives to a reputable company with 24 hour security, CCTV, Redcare alarm system and they do not have to take any responsibility because it was Arson?

user1977

leafymeadow said:

The insurance company has told us that it has been proved as Arson , so no liability is taken by the storage company. Can someone explain why this is? We gave 40 years of our lives to a reputable company with 24 hour security, CCTV, Redcare alarm system and they do not have to take any responsibility because it was Arson?

As already explained above, it's the fault of the arsonist, not the storage company.

DullGreyGuy

leafymeadow said:

Thank you for all your comments.
The insurance company has told us that it has been proved as Arson , so no liability is taken by the storage company. Can someone explain why this is? We gave 40 years of our lives to a reputable company with 24 hour security, CCTV, Redcare alarm system and they do not have to take any responsibility because it was Arson?

What class of insurance are we talking about? 

By the sounds of it the insurer is talking about some form of liability insurance in which case a party would only have a claim against the firm, and therefore the insurance, if the firm has been negligent in its actions. So if the fire had been caused by them not maintaining the building or it was a theft because someone forgot to lock the door etc then there'd be a claim. 

The fact its an external person who set the fire would point to them not being liable unless they were supposed to have some form of enhanced fire suppression system etc and that didnt trigger because it hadn't been turned on or had been defective for months and they hadn't had someone out to look at it yet etc.

You say you took some extended insurance however, do you have terms for it? what does it state it does and doesnt cover? Unfortunately there is nothing on their website about the insurance for storage.