Car damage from tile off neighbouring building
Discussion
Deskmate next to me had his convertible roof and windscreen sliced through due to [part of] a large slate tile (3ft x 2ft) descending from the adjacent building on the lane where he keeps his car. Happened during storm Gareth. Deskmate (DM) was away for three days after the event but neighbour (not from flats) photo'd damage etc and tarped over vehicle and gave photos to DM.
Adjacent buildings are converted to flats. He has from a tenant the insurers of the building, whom by the time DM had called had already been out anyway to patch / repair the roof of the building.
He has rung them to see how to make a claim. They've told him that "in principle" he will almost certainly get his excess back out of goodwill but an insurance claim for the write off / repair of his car will have to go through his own motor insurers, who'll then decide whether to approach the buildings insurers for recovery. Due to the damage occurring when there were winds 'above gale force' which constitutes force majure, to a property which appears to be well maintained to an item not on the insured property they hold no liability. Had there been an injury to a person, there would have been cover under public liability but your car is not a member of the public.
He then rang his own vehicle insurers who "didn't seem surprised" he'd been told this, but advised the quickest way to get his car fixed / written off and paid out (7 mo old car, uses for work, forgot to tick the "hire car cover" box...........) is through his motor insurance and then to worry about future uninsured (excess, increased premium, loss of value) losses later?
That right? TBH I think he realises a week or so hire car costs beat his excess so he was going to go with his own insurers.
(Are the insurers separate, one is an anagram of SAR and the other insures women like Shelia, though deskmate is a bloke so users the brother company).
Adjacent buildings are converted to flats. He has from a tenant the insurers of the building, whom by the time DM had called had already been out anyway to patch / repair the roof of the building.
He has rung them to see how to make a claim. They've told him that "in principle" he will almost certainly get his excess back out of goodwill but an insurance claim for the write off / repair of his car will have to go through his own motor insurers, who'll then decide whether to approach the buildings insurers for recovery. Due to the damage occurring when there were winds 'above gale force' which constitutes force majure, to a property which appears to be well maintained to an item not on the insured property they hold no liability. Had there been an injury to a person, there would have been cover under public liability but your car is not a member of the public.
He then rang his own vehicle insurers who "didn't seem surprised" he'd been told this, but advised the quickest way to get his car fixed / written off and paid out (7 mo old car, uses for work, forgot to tick the "hire car cover" box...........) is through his motor insurance and then to worry about future uninsured (excess, increased premium, loss of value) losses later?
That right? TBH I think he realises a week or so hire car costs beat his excess so he was going to go with his own insurers.
(Are the insurers separate, one is an anagram of SAR and the other insures women like Shelia, though deskmate is a bloke so users the brother company).
The advice he's been given is good. For the building owner to be liable, you would have to show that they had been negligent in not maintaining the roof - but that's going to be hard to do without a clear evidence trail (e.g. "we sent you a letter last month saying your roof was dangerous").
Far better to claim on your own insurance, which is what it's there for at the end of the day.
Far better to claim on your own insurance, which is what it's there for at the end of the day.
That is the case.
For the building owner to be liable (then the insurance company pays out) they have to be negligent.
If they new the roof was defective then there is probably a case (although it's hard to prove!), otherwise it's just one of those things that you pay your insurance company for.
For the building owner to be liable (then the insurance company pays out) they have to be negligent.
If they new the roof was defective then there is probably a case (although it's hard to prove!), otherwise it's just one of those things that you pay your insurance company for.
Thanks all.
I thought that was the case.
I think he is beating himself up for forgetting to click the "guaranteed hire car" section of his insurance application when he got the car.
He did defog get the business use put on as we don't get paid our car allowance without wages having seen our insurance policies stating we have business use..............
................you should have seen the look I got when I said to him "you have got comprehensive cover haven't you, not just fire and theft................?"
I thought that was the case.
I think he is beating himself up for forgetting to click the "guaranteed hire car" section of his insurance application when he got the car.
He did defog get the business use put on as we don't get paid our car allowance without wages having seen our insurance policies stating we have business use..............
................you should have seen the look I got when I said to him "you have got comprehensive cover haven't you, not just fire and theft................?"
The advice in this topical question and answer will amuse and alarm anyone who understands the principles involved.
(For anyone who does not understand the legal / insurance situation, his advice is completely wrong)
https://www.honestjohn.co.uk/askhj/answer/120928/i...
(For anyone who does not understand the legal / insurance situation, his advice is completely wrong)
https://www.honestjohn.co.uk/askhj/answer/120928/i...
dacouch said:
The advice in this topical question and answer will amuse and alarm anyone who understands the principles involved.
(For anyone who does not understand the legal / insurance situation, his advice is completely wrong)
https://www.honestjohn.co.uk/askhj/answer/120928/i...
Honest John has always made a good living from being completely wrong about absolutely everything.(For anyone who does not understand the legal / insurance situation, his advice is completely wrong)
https://www.honestjohn.co.uk/askhj/answer/120928/i...
This happened to me when a neighbour's summer house landed on my 3 week old Discovery Sport.
The repair cost was around £1,600. The neighbours were sympathetic and tried to get it on their insurance but it wasn't covered. It was close to Christmas and they popped a card through the door with a very generous cheque .
I felt bad as after a damn good polish most of the scratches either went or weren't that noticeable so it never got fixed and the dealer never mentioned it when appraising the car as a Part Ex.
The repair cost was around £1,600. The neighbours were sympathetic and tried to get it on their insurance but it wasn't covered. It was close to Christmas and they popped a card through the door with a very generous cheque .
I felt bad as after a damn good polish most of the scratches either went or weren't that noticeable so it never got fixed and the dealer never mentioned it when appraising the car as a Part Ex.
Wildcat45 said:
This happened to me when a neighbour's summer house landed on my 3 week old Discovery Sport.
The repair cost was around £1,600. The neighbours were sympathetic and tried to get it on their insurance but it wasn't covered. It was close to Christmas and they popped a card through the door with a very generous cheque .
I felt bad as after a damn good polish most of the scratches either went or weren't that noticeable so it never got fixed and the dealer never mentioned it when appraising the car as a Part Ex.
Did you cash the cheque?The repair cost was around £1,600. The neighbours were sympathetic and tried to get it on their insurance but it wasn't covered. It was close to Christmas and they popped a card through the door with a very generous cheque .
I felt bad as after a damn good polish most of the scratches either went or weren't that noticeable so it never got fixed and the dealer never mentioned it when appraising the car as a Part Ex.
Regarding rental cars etc, if he is worried or otherwise keen to mitigate costs, tell him to find his own reputable local repairer who will almost vertainly have a courtesy car available It wont be a 7 month of car, but will get him about and it should only be a week or so to get it fixed.
Forums | Speed, Plod & the Law | Top of Page | What's New | My Stuff