Car Through Wall Of House - Insurance Claim
Discussion
Mum had a car go through the wall of her house last night
We contacted both the car's and mum's home insurers and both were surprisingly useless - as were the police and fire service
I acro propped and boarded up the hole at 10pm
I believe the usual process is to claim on your home insurance and then they claim from the car insurers
Is there an issue doing this - are we better off claiming directly from the car insurers ?
Essentially, I want the minimal hassle and the best job done. It's a listed building - I'm unsure if that complicates matters
It's not about to fall down but there's a decent sized hole in the lounge -which isn't ideal
We contacted both the car's and mum's home insurers and both were surprisingly useless - as were the police and fire service
I acro propped and boarded up the hole at 10pm
I believe the usual process is to claim on your home insurance and then they claim from the car insurers
Is there an issue doing this - are we better off claiming directly from the car insurers ?
Essentially, I want the minimal hassle and the best job done. It's a listed building - I'm unsure if that complicates matters
It's not about to fall down but there's a decent sized hole in the lounge -which isn't ideal
Quite, well done that man, quelle surprise at the lack of any practical support (ie knowing who to call for emergency boarding/securing) from the various attendees.
I'm sure your mother's home insurer will sort things out, hopefully it won't go against her as a normal claim possibly resulting in a hefty premium rise.
Hopefully no one in the house was physically hurt.
I'm sure your mother's home insurer will sort things out, hopefully it won't go against her as a normal claim possibly resulting in a hefty premium rise.
Hopefully no one in the house was physically hurt.
Thanks for the replies, that's part of the reason I'm asking the question
We were perfectly happy dealing with it ourselves, then the police turned up, blocking one lane of the main road and called the fire brigade
Who blocked both lanes and insisted on turning off the gas and electricity and moving my 82 year old mother out of her house
After messing about for 3 hours, they finally agreed with me that it wasn't in danger of falling down and despite telling me 3 hours earlier, they took care of boarding it up, it turns out if it's not in danger of falling down, they don't
So instead of me doing it in the daylight, I was doing it at 10pm
I have a background in residential development and would like this resolved as quickly as possible, which is why I'm wondering whether I should get the trades involved myself and claim from the car insurer or to go through the home insurance
Essentially, the only reason I'd go to the home insurer is if it's quick and easy
We were perfectly happy dealing with it ourselves, then the police turned up, blocking one lane of the main road and called the fire brigade
Who blocked both lanes and insisted on turning off the gas and electricity and moving my 82 year old mother out of her house
After messing about for 3 hours, they finally agreed with me that it wasn't in danger of falling down and despite telling me 3 hours earlier, they took care of boarding it up, it turns out if it's not in danger of falling down, they don't
So instead of me doing it in the daylight, I was doing it at 10pm
I have a background in residential development and would like this resolved as quickly as possible, which is why I'm wondering whether I should get the trades involved myself and claim from the car insurer or to go through the home insurance
Essentially, the only reason I'd go to the home insurer is if it's quick and easy
KTMsm said:
I have a background in residential development and would like this resolved as quickly as possible, which is why I'm wondering whether I should get the trades involved myself and claim from the car insurer or to go through the home insurance
Essentially, the only reason I'd go to the home insurer is if it's quick and easy
You’re opening a can of worms , let the home insurer sort everything out , that’s what your mother has paid for.Essentially, the only reason I'd go to the home insurer is if it's quick and easy
Almost the same; we had a young lad crash his car through a wall separating the road from our front garden. As far as I can remember, his car insurance sorted everything. We/the young lad got a quote from a local 'builder' [which I thought was way OTT] and before we knew it, the insurance company transferred the cash into our account. I couldn't believe how easy it was!
This brings back memories.
When I was around 10 years old, my dad bought an approved used Vauxhall Omega, think it was only about 2 years old at the time.
My dad returned back from work one evening and we were chatting, next thing we heard was a thud and then the car alarm going off.
Our initial reaction that was it was bold for someone to break into the car so soon after getting home.
We opened the front door to find the car had gone, it had rolled down our path and straight into the house opposites living room.
The car was in park with the handbrake up.
This resulted in about a 15 month escapade. In a nutshell, the whole side of the house was rebuilt, when the assessors carried out their investigation, they found that the mortar used was incorrect / defective for the house built in 1995, so essentially they had to take out a lot more.
Our neighbours were put up in a luxury apartment with expenses whilst the works were going on.
This was in 2001, I imagine the claim being around £150k.
I'm not sure where the claim was settled, think I was too young to take note at the time, but I'm convinced this was why my car insurance was sky high when I started driving and continued to be until I moved out.
When I was around 10 years old, my dad bought an approved used Vauxhall Omega, think it was only about 2 years old at the time.
My dad returned back from work one evening and we were chatting, next thing we heard was a thud and then the car alarm going off.
Our initial reaction that was it was bold for someone to break into the car so soon after getting home.
We opened the front door to find the car had gone, it had rolled down our path and straight into the house opposites living room.
The car was in park with the handbrake up.
This resulted in about a 15 month escapade. In a nutshell, the whole side of the house was rebuilt, when the assessors carried out their investigation, they found that the mortar used was incorrect / defective for the house built in 1995, so essentially they had to take out a lot more.
Our neighbours were put up in a luxury apartment with expenses whilst the works were going on.
This was in 2001, I imagine the claim being around £150k.
I'm not sure where the claim was settled, think I was too young to take note at the time, but I'm convinced this was why my car insurance was sky high when I started driving and continued to be until I moved out.
AlexGSi2000 said:
This brings back memories.
When I was around 10 years old, my dad bought an approved used Vauxhall Omega, think it was only about 2 years old at the time.
My dad returned back from work one evening and we were chatting, next thing we heard was a thud and then the car alarm going off.
Our initial reaction that was it was bold for someone to break into the car so soon after getting home.
We opened the front door to find the car had gone, it had rolled down our path and straight into the house opposites living room.
The car was in park with the handbrake up.
This resulted in about a 15 month escapade. In a nutshell, the whole side of the house was rebuilt, when the assessors carried out their investigation, they found that the mortar used was incorrect / defective for the house built in 1995, so essentially they had to take out a lot more.
Our neighbours were put up in a luxury apartment with expenses whilst the works were going on.
This was in 2001, I imagine the claim being around £150k.
I'm not sure where the claim was settled, think I was too young to take note at the time, but I'm convinced this was why my car insurance was sky high when I started driving and continued to be until I moved out.
OT , but that claim would have had precisely zero impact on your car insurance. When I was around 10 years old, my dad bought an approved used Vauxhall Omega, think it was only about 2 years old at the time.
My dad returned back from work one evening and we were chatting, next thing we heard was a thud and then the car alarm going off.
Our initial reaction that was it was bold for someone to break into the car so soon after getting home.
We opened the front door to find the car had gone, it had rolled down our path and straight into the house opposites living room.
The car was in park with the handbrake up.
This resulted in about a 15 month escapade. In a nutshell, the whole side of the house was rebuilt, when the assessors carried out their investigation, they found that the mortar used was incorrect / defective for the house built in 1995, so essentially they had to take out a lot more.
Our neighbours were put up in a luxury apartment with expenses whilst the works were going on.
This was in 2001, I imagine the claim being around £150k.
I'm not sure where the claim was settled, think I was too young to take note at the time, but I'm convinced this was why my car insurance was sky high when I started driving and continued to be until I moved out.
Claim would probably have been paid by the house insurers and “ normally “ then they would subrogate back against the car Insurers.
alscar said:
OT , but that claim would have had precisely zero impact on your car insurance.
Claim would probably have been paid by the house insurers and “ normally “ then they would subrogate back against the car Insurers.
Perhaps not as clear-cut as that - the insurers maintain databases of claims per postcode, so that would've nudged up the average quite a bit.Claim would probably have been paid by the house insurers and “ normally “ then they would subrogate back against the car Insurers.
KTMsm said:
Essentially, the only reason I'd go to the home insurer is if it's quick and easy
In my experience it will not be quick. I've seen two house damage incidents, one with fire damage & the other hit by lightning, where the occupants were out of the house for over a year - nearly 18 months in the one case. Getting hold of trades is not quick even for insurance companies & for listed building work it's likley to be even harder.OP - I think there’s a danger of conflating two issues.
I would be claiming from the house insurance and let them deal with the third party insurers. Your mum has the benefit of an insurance contract with them and can claim on its terms. As against the third party, she’ll need to prove negligence etc, and whilst that may seem obvious (and it might be), it might not be and you don’t need that hassle.
The other issue, As to who does the work, you need to get into a discussion with the insurers on that. They will likely want arms length quotes - because although you might be the cheapest and quickest (and care the most!) they will be concerned about being ripped off.
Start documenting all your work, materials and other costs with photos. I’d be claiming that, even if helping my mum.
I would be claiming from the house insurance and let them deal with the third party insurers. Your mum has the benefit of an insurance contract with them and can claim on its terms. As against the third party, she’ll need to prove negligence etc, and whilst that may seem obvious (and it might be), it might not be and you don’t need that hassle.
The other issue, As to who does the work, you need to get into a discussion with the insurers on that. They will likely want arms length quotes - because although you might be the cheapest and quickest (and care the most!) they will be concerned about being ripped off.
Start documenting all your work, materials and other costs with photos. I’d be claiming that, even if helping my mum.
CraigyMc said:
KTMsm said:
Essentially, the only reason I'd go to the home insurer is if it's quick and easy
But you want the insurer to pay, otherwise what's the point of the insurer?As someone who is insured, has left the road and demolished the wall they will end up paying and as I can do it faster and cheaper, I can't see they'll be an issue claiming from them directly
Although I'm not certain, hence the post
Mum's 82 so she'd want me there if she's got builders in the house so they can either pay me to sit there supervising or pay me to organize it all
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