Windscreen smashed
Discussion
avinalarf said:
TooMany2cvs said:
avinalarf said:
but that still leaves the fact that the tree branch that caused the damage was rotten.
Ah. You didn't mention that.What's the council's tree maintenance policy? When was this tree last inspected?
I have sent an email to the Council's insurers and go from there.
If I get a result,which I must admit is very doubtful,I'll post.
It may help others on the forum with the same problem in the future.
You might have noticed where they have been, and routinely sawn branches off trees or cut them down to see if they are rotten inside, to avoid spurious claims... a policy that slowly reduces the scale of the problem!
You will more than likely have to stump up the cash yourself. Just be careful where you leaf your vehicle in future.
Mill Wheel said:
Most councils either employ a tree officer if they are large enough, and have enough trees to justify the expense, or employ the local branch of a national tree survey company.
You might have noticed where they have been, and routinely sawn branches off trees or cut them down to see if they are rotten inside, to avoid spurious claims... a policy that slowly reduces the scale of the problem!
You will more than likely have to stump up the cash yourself. Just be careful where you leaf your vehicle in future.
Boom, Boom and, indeed, Boom... You might have noticed where they have been, and routinely sawn branches off trees or cut them down to see if they are rotten inside, to avoid spurious claims... a policy that slowly reduces the scale of the problem!
You will more than likely have to stump up the cash yourself. Just be careful where you leaf your vehicle in future.
GT6k said:
So you are going to waste the coucil's time (which you are paying for with your taxes) and if you are successful they will come and cut all the trees in your road down and then increase your council tax to pay for the work.
I'm guessing that the OP doesn't live in Sheffield.Red Devil said:
GT6k said:
So you are going to waste the coucil's time (which you are paying for with your taxes) and if you are successful they will come and cut all the trees in your road down and then increase your council tax to pay for the work.
I'm guessing that the OP doesn't live in Sheffield.
After all that malarkey, they sent me a letter with a veiled apology, outlining their plans for other areas and explaining how residents could now object online, after which they'd put views to an independent panel to advise the Council before attacking more trees...which the Council will ignore, as happened in your linked incident.
Any road up, they gave me a link to proposals for my road, so I could assess them and object if I so desired.
Slight problem for me here...
They FINISHED my road six months earlier...
elanfan said:
Act of God doesn't exist in insurance contracts - a common fallacy.
Absolutely correct, but note there was no mention about insurance until after the second post, where the term is first used; the OP at this point had only enquired about claiming from the council.The term act of God is never used in an insurance policy, but it is a legitimate legal term. An act of God is an incident:
- which involves no human agency
- which is not realistically possible to guard against
- which is due directly and exclusively to natural causes and
- which could not have been prevented by any amount of foresight, plans, and care
In the context of insurance, many incorrectly believe that if you insure let's say a building, the insurer will not pay out on a claim made by the policyholder for such incidents; this is totally incorrect. As long as you are insured against a particular peril, the insurer will pay out.
Where the term is often used in the context of insurance is on liability claim from a third party. A policy will never contain an act of God exclusion, but it will state that it only extends to the policyholder's legal liability. As no individual or organisation can be held liable for an injury or loss to by another party caused by an incident fitting the description of an act of God, neither can the insurer that covers them for liability claims. The term is used less frequently these days though, as it is considered archaic, and it is often met with the OP's response, "Act of God !...........I'm not religious.".
and then acts all surprised to discover various bits of tree embedded in his car after storm has passed. Who'da thunk it eh. 
avinalarf said:
CYMR0 said:
avinalarf said:
Mammasaid said:
Act of God.
Suck it up, claim on insurance, pay the windscreen excess (~£70).
Move on.
/thread
That's not advise ,that's stating the bleedin obvious.Suck it up, claim on insurance, pay the windscreen excess (~£70).
Move on.
/thread
It appears you have strayed from posting on Mumsnet ?
Just seeking advise on a forum.
I was interested in finding out if anyone had made a similar successful claim.
If you don't ask ,you don't know.
I'm not a fool and know all about sucking it up and Acts of God but that still leaves the fact that the tree branch that caused
the damage was rotten.
I realise most claims against a Council are going to be hard work to win but that doesn't absolve them from their lawful obligations.
It wasn't so much about the £70 but more about my chances of having a case against them.
TwigtheWonderkid said:
elanfan said:
Act of God doesn't exist in insurance contracts - a common fallacy.
This is the correct answer.But to claim against the council ( or whoever is responsible for the tree), you'll have to prove their negligence and I doubt you'll be able to do that.
Glassman said:
Have the branch analysed. There must be a reason why it fell of the tree; disease, demonic possession, sabotage etc.
There doesn't need to to be damage/disease (or Demonic possession) for branches to fall from a tree in high winds.If the winds speed is high enough and powerful enough to bend a branch beyond it's natural breaking point - Chances are that the branch will break.
Damage or disease to the tree will drastically reduce the natural breaking point of branches (I'm not so sure about Demonic possession as that is a supernatural occurrence), but it is perfectly possible for a completely healthy tree to lose branches if the wind speed is both high enough and powerful enough.
herewego said:
TwigtheWonderkid said:
elanfan said:
Act of God doesn't exist in insurance contracts - a common fallacy.
This is the correct answer.But to claim against the council ( or whoever is responsible for the tree), you'll have to prove their negligence and I doubt you'll be able to do that.
The council need do no more.
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