Delay in contacting insurance company after damage to car

[nw28840]

Car was parked at my golf club last October.
Tree fell on car in the high winds.
Golf club owners asked me to get two quotes for the repair, both came in a touch over £3k (car worth maybe £8k). The damage is to the boot, car still drives however the convertible roof is now temperamental, boot won’t always open and close etc....

I sent the two quotes by email December 4th 2018.

Due to starting a new job, I just waited for the owners to get back to me, eventually saw one of the two owners last week and was surprised that they had expected me to claim off my insurance. In that case I’m not sure why they had me send them two quotes 5 months ago !!).

This week I received a formal letter, stating the golf clubs are not liable for the damage to my car.

I’m pretty unhappy with the stance the golf club owners have taken, however there is a small sign in the car park stating ‘Car Owners park at their own risk etc etc......I thought this was to cover against break ins or stray golf balls’ and not a rotting tree. When it first happened they asked for the quotes and mentioned the word ‘contribution’, I was maybe too relaxed about the whole thing but was starting a new job in a couple of weeks time and the Golf Club Owners are worth a small fortune so really didn’t think there would be an issue. I was more annoyed at the fact that I wanted to change my car as my daily commute was now 50 miles instead of working from home and I was looking to swap into a newer car.

Would it be worth talking to a lawyer about this ?

Would my insurance company still cover me for the repair even though the damage occurred in October 2018 ?

Or do I just suck it up and get the car repaired myself, I want to trade the car for a newer car anyway, so would it just be best to trade in as is ?

Thoughts ?

Thanks,
Nick

[surveyor]

Gold club only liable if they were negligent.

Old dead tree dropped in light winds = negligence.. Tree dropped in storms maybe not so much...

[davek_964]

I've seen threads before where people haven't notified their insurers for some time and it doesn't usually seem to be an issue. Have you renewed since it happened? I guess that could make a difference since it means you renewed without declaring there had been an "incident".

If a tree fell on my car, I'm not sure I'd expect anybody other than my insurance to pay.

[TwigtheWonderkid]

nw28840 said:

Car was parked at my golf club last October.
Tree fell on car in the high winds.
Golf club owners asked me to get two quotes for the repair,

I doubt they were responsible for the damage, as they probably weren't negligent. But if your insurers refuse to pay because of the time delay, then you may have a claim against the golf club, as they were negligent in asking you to provide estimates and giving the impression that they would be dealing with it, and that led to the time delay. Hence you are out of pocket due to their negligence.

There was no reason for them to request estimates, they should have told you to jog on in the first place.

[echazfraz]

surveyor said:

Gold club only liable if they were negligent.

Old dead tree dropped in light winds = negligence.. Tree dropped in storms maybe not so much...

Similar happened to my partner in work car park - funnily enough around £3k damage on an £8k car.

Rows of parked cars separated by small-ish (birch?) trees and one of them fell into the rear offside quarter, buggered tailgate and roof, etc. and factor's insurance covered full cost.

The reason that the factor's insurance covered the full cost, as I was told, is that the trees were "regularly inspected" and this one clearly, upon an actual proper inspection when it was laid on top of the car, was dead and should have been replaced / stabilised after the "regular inspection" had the inspection actually happened (properly).

I don't know the ins and outs of the obligations of those who provide car parking with respect to trees, this is just an example of where and how negligence was accepted.

Good luck with it, stty situation.

[nw28840]

Thanks for the replies.

Insurance not due for renewal until August so no contact made since then.

I’ll contact them and take it from there.

Thanks,
Nick

[fourstardan]

Owners and golf club would suggest although rolling around in large sums of money they probably are really tight as your first fairway after a skinfull.

What would have happened if said tree fell on you ?

[TwigtheWonderkid]

fourstardan said:

Owners and golf club would suggest although rolling around in large sums of money they probably are really tight as your first fairway after a skinfull.

What would have happened if said tree fell on you ?

Unless the golf club was negligent, then if the OP didn't have his own personal accident cover, he would be crippled for life and get no money. Sometimes bad things happen that's just no one's fault.

[Eddieslofart]

TwigtheWonderkid said:

fourstardan said:

Owners and golf club would suggest although rolling around in large sums of money they probably are really tight as your first fairway after a skinfull.

What would have happened if said tree fell on you ?

Unless the golf club was negligent, then if the OP didn't have his own personal accident cover, he would be crippled for life and get no money. Sometimes bad things happen that's just no one's fault.

BOB. Golf Club need to demonstrate inspection regime for trees as they are in a publicly accessible area. What certification do they have showing this inspection regime?