Does my insurance pay for neighbour's repair?

[allwrongitsallwrong]

My neighbour says a leak from my property has caused water damage in their property. They want the cost of putting this right to be paid by my insurance. I've never made an insurance claim, know next to nothing about insurance, and so have no idea if this is a reasonable request or not. Can anyone advise? They say they don't want to have to pay the excess on their insurance. Thanks

No, THEIR house insurance pays, that’s why they have it. They’re trying it on!

Thanks. I did wonder if they were just being cheeky, but the woman has always seemed so nice. I didn't want to be arsey if it was my responsibility but also don't want massive insurance premium increases for making a claim if they were being CFs!

Do you actually have a leak? Has it been fixed? Sounds like they are trying it on.

What proof have they offered you?

I didn't want to be arsey if it was my responsibility but also don't want massive insurance premium increases for making a claim

But if you caused the damage it does seem shit that they’ll have to pay the excess and also have the ‘massive insurance premium increases’...

I'm in a flat. If a leak from upstairs affects me ( as it has done quite a few times) the upstairs landlord or their insurance make the repairs.

Do you if their damage was caused by water from your property?

If so how?

They can claim on their own insurance who will investigate and claim from yours if appropriate.

Assuming you both have appropriate insurance cover.

Your insurance will only pay if you’ve been negligent. Leaks happen and it’s annoying but if you haven’t done anything to cause the leak either outright or by omission like neglecting maintenance then you aren’t liable. It’s not very neighbourly but that is the usual practice for insurance companies.

No.

They claim on their insurance.

If their insurance company decides you are at fault they will contact your insurance company.

There are a few things (which I can't remember of the top of my head) - but this isn't one of them as leaks are common - where this happens and explains why you should always have buildings insurance.

@Cherrysoup

No, THEIR house insurance pays, that’s why they have it. They’re trying it on!

Nonsense. If the leak is from OP's property, she is liable and her insurance pays.

If you have negligently caused damage to someone else’s property then you are legally liable to make it good. Their insurance situation is neither here nor there. But the negligence bit is key.

Did your swimming leak onto her property?

😁

Well, mixed responses there! I don't see how I have done anything negligent to cause a leak. But then come to think of it, I'm not sure how anyone negligently causes a leak? I know even less about plumbing than I do about insurance..

Do my insurance premiums only increase if I make a claim on my insurance? Can I speak to my insurance company to get their advice without it coming back to bite me in the arse? Or do I just wait and see what their insurance says like @RedMarauder says?

You haven't said where you are, but in Scotland you are not liable for leaks unless they are negligent (e.g. left the bath running with the plug in or failed to do adequate maintenance on your property which caused a leak). I would do some of your own Googling, if you are in England I believe it's the same rules.

When my pipe burst and leaked in the flat below, I offered to pay for their insurance excess as an offer of good will but I wasn't legally obliged to pay for a thing.

Thanks @soughsigh

It would depend on the circumstances but they would in the first instance contact their insurers who, if they felt you were negligent in some way would then request details of your insurers to try and recoup the costs.

By negligence this can also mean by omission. So it your water tank bursts because no one has ever looked at it in decades and it burst due to age deterioration than that would be classed as negligence. Read your insurance policy booklet - the small print no one ever reads. There will be a segment on water damage.

I would suggest your first port of call is to get an independent plumber to inspect the area they claim damaged their property and check the validity of their claim and to ensure there are no other “surprises” lurking. This will likely inform your action going forward.

OK. Start with the very basics

Have you had a leak?

If so, what kind of leak was it?

As above, your neighbour should contact their insurance company. Depending on circumstances, and if their insurance company thinks you are liable, they will contact your insurance company to claim the money back from them.
If this happens, and your insurance company accepts fault and pays out the claim then yes this goes as a claim on your policy and your insurance premium will increase the same as it would have if you made the initial claim.

It really all comes down to what has caused the leak, you could be at fault for anything from leaving a tap running which caused it to deteriorated pipes that should have been looked at etc.

Do you know how much damage there is to their property?