Neibour issue - trying to make a claim on our home insurance

[Actual]

Actually you might have a bit of a problem.

The good news is you had a leak and damage to your property was covered by your home building insurance and your insurance company covered it and dealt with the problem which has now gone away.

The bad news is you have someone trying to make a claim against you and regardless of what that claim is you need to defend it. Your home building insurance does not provide liability cover so it can't help you with this claim. You didn't have home contents insurance cover in place which means that you don't have any liability cover so there is no insurance company that will defend you against this claim so you so you will have to defend yourself which could be costly.

[elanfan]

OP - it's not absolutely clear from your first post but it looks as though neighbour 2 had damp issues before you moved in and was keen to show you this. That being the case his damaged certainly pre existed you moving in and most likely predated your purchase so if I've got it right it shouldn't be your problem.

A few suggestions - write down a timeline of events. Get neighbour 1 to confirm in writing they've had no issues. Get your insurer to ask for disclosure of his claim with them you might be surprised how long it goes back and exactly what it reveals.

Maybe work into the conversation with him that your insurers are presently prosecuting fraud cases and people have been jailed. Tell him you've started logging all your costs associated with this and that you'll be claiming them back off him! Oh and tell him to jog on.

[wiggy001]

The only thing to be concerned about here is that you appear to have moved in near to "one of those" neighbours. I suspect you'll have to put up with stuff like this for years to come so think about how you want your neighbourly relationship to pan out now and act accordingly. It's all well and good telling him to jog on, but you still need to live near him.

Might be worth finding out from the other neighbours whether he has form for this sort of thing - they may have already disowned him because of similar stunts and he's trying it on as you're new. In which case, tell him to do one.

[guitarcarfanatic]

OP - your insurers will likely appoint a loss adjuster to defend your/their liability. This one looks pretty clear cut - it pre dates you policy and therefore won't be your problem.

Also, how have you been negligent? To seek damages, this would need to be proven and I cannot see the basis for an argument?! There was a leak - it was fixed. What more can you do?

I wouldn't worry, liability adjusters tend to be the pitbulls of the insurance world and if appointed, will resolve pretty quickly.

If you need any specific advice, feel free to send me a message. I've worked in Insurance Claims for close to 10 years and the company I run specifically deals with situations such as this (we would normally be the ones tracing/fixing the leak).

Cheers,

Rob

[Actual]

From my reading of the thread the OP was not insured and did not have liability cover when the incident occurred so he has no insurance cover relating to the claim by the neighbour. There is therefore no insurance company to take this up and no loss adjuster. Just what I read above.

[mangos]

Actual said:

From my reading of the thread the OP was not insured and did not have liability cover when the incident occurred so he has no insurance cover relating to the claim by the neighbour. There is therefore no insurance company to take this up and no loss adjuster. Just what I read above.

Semi correct - it seems we don't have liability cover through co tents insurance as at the time we didn't hold contents insurance. However, our insurer is offering to help through our buildings insurance if needed (but not guaranteed I guess)

This is what they go on to say in the email -

'I can see that you've held a buildings policy with us since 21 January 2017, but only took out contents cover on 1 June 2017, which was after this happened. Therefore you need to report this to your previous contents insurer so that they can handle this for you.

If you didn't have any contents cover at the time, we might be able to consider this under your buildings policy. This includes liability cover for you as the owner, following an accident there when you're held legally liable for damage to another person's property. The other person would need to prove that this was as a result of your negligence, that it was reasonably foreseeable and could have been prevented, but that you failed to take any steps to do so.'

[mangos]

wiggy001 said:

The only thing to be concerned about here is that you appear to have moved in near to "one of those" neighbours. I suspect you'll have to put up with stuff like this for years to come so think about how you want your neighbourly relationship to pan out now and act accordingly. It's all well and good telling him to jog on, but you still need to live near him.

Might be worth finding out from the other neighbours whether he has form for this sort of thing - they may have already disowned him because of similar stunts and he's trying it on as you're new. In which case, tell him to do one.

This is a big concern of mine.

Other neighbours know him as a busy body but nice enough it seems.
No major issues otherwise.

He's a friendly bloke, works from home, young family sort.

[mangos]

guitarcarfanatic said:

OP - your insurers will likely appoint a loss adjuster to defend your/their liability. This one looks pretty clear cut - it pre dates you policy and therefore won't be your problem.

Also, how have you been negligent? To seek damages, this would need to be proven and I cannot see the basis for an argument?! There was a leak - it was fixed. What more can you do?

I wouldn't worry, liability adjusters tend to be the pitbulls of the insurance world and if appointed, will resolve pretty quickly.

If you need any specific advice, feel free to send me a message. I've worked in Insurance Claims for close to 10 years and the company I run specifically deals with situations such as this (we would normally be the ones tracing/fixing the leak).

Cheers,

Rob

Thank you Rob. This is very reassuring

[elanfan]

Any update OP?

[mangos]

elanfan said:

Any update OP?

No word since from the insurers. Everything gone quiet.

The neighbour is having regular visits from drainage contractors who have also been fixing collapsed drains y dermeath his house. Something else that could be an additional cause if his damp I guess.

[TA14]

mangos said:

No word since from the insurers. Everything gone quiet.

The neighbour is having regular visits from drainage contractors who have also been fixing collapsed drains y dermeath his house. Something else that could be an additional cause if his damp I guess.

I hope you have a lot 'photos of their works and vans outside his house. Keep a diary. Just in case.

[Harry Flashman]

This nonsense is why we bought a detached house. I'm thinking machine gun tower as well.

I have been very lucky with my neighbours thus far but, as these numerous threads show, people can be scumbags.

[BlueHave]

mangos said:

Eddieslofart said:

I'd go piss through his letterbox while he's away...that'll confuse him.

This is what I feel like doing, but I would need a she-wee to do so

Now that be another leak he would need to find the source of

Poor guy, getting all this work done thinking he could claim for it all on someone else insurance and you would just fall over and give him your details.

I can tell you from experience that neighbours who are sneaky and creeps need to be told straight.

I once had a neighbour that used to accuse us of clicking at his wall at 4am. He invented sounds to complain about.

Just call a nutter a nutter and don't beat around the bush.