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

[mangos]

We got the keys to or house on 21st Jan. A Victorian end of terrace in a row of 4.
We met our neighbours who all seemed friendly.
One from two doors down invited us in to look at his house as he was having problems with damp and thought it was helpful to show us as our house had been empty for a year and we possibly had the same issues.
He had appointed a damp proofing specialist who was in the middle of stripping his plaster off at the time.
They seemed to be friends and suggested we use his damp proof guy if we had issues.

We were replacing the kitchen and bathroom in our house immediately and had our stop cock turned off for plumbing to be removed.
When we switched it on (luckily before flooring and units had been installed) a river of water flowed out through the front of our house.
As soon as this was noticed we shut off the stop cock and got our house insurance to do a trace and detect.

House insurer was fab. Came out quickly, found the burst pipe, excavated the concrete floor where the leak was so it could be fixed and then refilled the holes.
Our stop cock then went back on and we have had no further leaks.

During this time, neighbour from two doors down becomes very interested in our leak.
Tries to push his damp proofing friend on us.
I don't believe damp proofing was ever needed. There were damp patches that had appeared, but we knew the cause and these dried out and we promptly turned down his services.

Later on, maybe a month or a few weeks, this neighbour keeps bothering us and wanting to meet and discuss our leak.
It was a busy time, baby on the way, house renovations, family weddings abroad etc.
We speak to him over the phone on conference and he is demanding our insurers details and our leak detection report with confirmation that our leak was fixed.

I called our insurer and explained that this neighbour was requesting their details and explained I'm not sure if I should give them.
They said it would be ok to pass on their details as they will confirm that it's nothing to do with them.

Roll on a few months and it turns out all the damp proofing he had done hasn't worked and his house is full of damp again and it all has to be stripped out once more. He's now going on about being £8k out of pocket due to it and that his insurer won't cover it and thinks our leak is to blame.

A leak which flowed to the front of our house downhill and not across to his house two doors down and a leak which was only leaking for a day or two at the most, and didn't even cause major damp in our own house.

It turns out that he and his next door neighbour the other side had old mains pipes under the house that was over due for replacement and were leaky and he got a company to come out and replace the mains to the whole row.

All leaks for everyone sorted. Reason for damp to his house found and no need for damp proofing - just drying out.

It's now August and today I receive and email from my insurer saying he is claiming on us and they have requested further details.

I call them straight away and explain the above and they agree it seems weird but they are just at the stage of gathering evidence.
If he does have a claim against us, they won't cover it as it's on contents and the date he is claiming for was at a time we didn't have contents cover.

It's just a waiting game with that.

But I'm so angry with the neighbour.
He's on holiday at the moment and if he want I think I'd find it really hard not to go round and ask him what he is playing at.

What should I do next if anything?

Would you speak to te neighbour or leave it in the hands of the insurers?

It certainly doesn't make for nice neighbourly relations in a place we have only just moved to.

Edited by mangos on Wednesday 2nd August 20:41

[mangos]

Blue62 - only problem is that if we are found to be liable (a big if I hope), that it would have to go through contents insurance and our insurance was for buildings only at the time they have made the claim for.
We would have to pay out of our own pocket I guess if that was the case, which is why I'm a little panicky

[mangos]

Bristol spark said:

Am i reading this correctly, that a neighbour 2 doors down (ie 1 house between) thinks a water leak in yours is causing his dampness?

That's correct!

[mangos]

Countdown said:

If I thought they were rational I'd try to speak to them.

This guy doesn't seem rational. Damp takes weeks if not months/years to appear. He's off his rocker.

He really has no idea what so ever when it comes to home maintenance.

But his supposed stupidity is possibly hiding that he is trying to just pull a fast one

[mangos]

tighnamara said:

mangos said:

Blue62 - only problem is that if we are found to be liable (a big if I hope), that it would have to go through contents insurance and our insurance was for buildings only at the time they have made the claim for.
We would have to pay out of our own pocket I guess if that was the case, which is why I'm a little panicky

Never knew that contents insurance on your own property could be claimed against by a 3rd party property.

Should he not be going through his own insurance who would then make any valid claim against your insurance.

Yes, it's his insurance that's contacted my insurance on his behalf.

I understand he could claim on my buildings insurance as there is some liability cover, bug had no idea he could attempt a claim on my contents policy (of which didn't exist)

[mangos]

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

[mangos]

TA14 said:

How can he claim against your house contents? Does he suggest that you had a leaky kettle?

This is the wording in the email I received from my insurer today -

'I've also looked at your policy cover to see whether we can help you with the liability claim against you. This type of claim would be dealt with under occupier’s liability cover that is usually provided by a home contents policy.'

[mangos]

tighnamara said:

What exactly is his claim, have you seen anything official stating what required to be repaired, why they think you are responsible, what works he has carried out at his property, along with all dates etc.

it doesnt say exactly in the email

they are just gathering evidence at the moment.

however, based on previous contact with this neighbour, he has tried to claim on his own home insurance policy for the damp proofing he had done, but they wouldnt accept his claim. Thats when he tried to get our insurance details.

He seemed to be cross that we were geting our leak fixed by our insurance. However its a totally different issue. We havent had damp proofing work done under insurance. Our claim through our insurer was small in comparison.

He said at one point his bill for the damp proofing work was £8k. Whether it ended up being more, I have no idea.


This is the main info given in the email:
'Further to your claim, we've been contacted by ***** Insurance about water damage to your neighbour's property at**********. They're alleging that the damage was caused by a burst pipe at your property, and they're holding you liable for the repair costs.
They say that the damage happened on 5 April 2017, which was some time after the water leak we dealt with for you. Please can you confirm whether there was a further leak at your property on this date, and what steps you took to repair it.'

[mangos]

tighnamara said:

Are they aware he also had a leaking pipe that he repaired.
Sounds as though they just want to confirm you had no further leaks before going back to his insurance company.

Our insurer were not aware, but I informed them of that today.

[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

[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.