Fire damage

[Sally150]

Posting here for traffic but was wondering how to deal with this.
A fire broke out in mine and dp garden several weeks ago and it caused damage to about 3 neighbours property one of these been my sister.
We dont know how the fire started and all the fire brigade could say is that it started in our garden.
I was at work when it started and dp was out and when he got back it had already started obviously we suffered the brunt of damage.
There has been a lot of talk going around that dp was burning rubbish etc etc with some saying they could smell smoke the night before coming from our garden which again I wasn't in and dp says he didn't even step foot in the garden the night before.
Now a couple of neighbours one of which is my sister have had letters from their insurers saying because dp isn't admitting any liability then there claim may not be successful and although their work will be done it will come off thier insurance but that thier premiums will go up and they wont get thier excess back.obviously neighbours are feeling angry about this and ine mentioned court proceedings.
My sister is been okay about it but says she can't afford to lose the excess she paid.
So mumsnetters how to handle this situation.

It was a hot day when the fire started and we think it started on a fence panel.

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If he didn't do it, he didn't do it. If it had started in their gardens, they'd have to pay.

It's unfortunate but it's just how it is. Not your fault.

In this situation you are not at fault although it started in your garden it's standard that each home would go through there own home insurance don't reimburse them yourself as this could cause problems with the insurance side of the claim

Unfortunately unless they can show how the fire started/ what caused it and that you were negligent in relation to that, they have no come back against you.

My house got flooded by a water leak last year that came from my neighbours house. Although the cause and origin of the leak was obvious (burst pipe) the circumstances were such that insurers considered it was one of those things and that there was no negligence on neighbours part.

Although in situations like that it's galling to have to pay excess for something that isn't your fault, as home insurance isn't calculated in the same way as say car insurance, you don't really get much no claims discount nor does making a claim cause much of a hike in your premiums. That may be some comfort to your neighbours.

If she can't afford to lose the excess she should've taken out a policy with a lower excess.
I'm sorry if that sounds harsh but if her house flooded she'd be in the same situation - the whole point of insurance is to cover for accidents and nobody was to blame, it's just an unfortunate situation.

It’s just one of those things - if he didn’t do it he didn’t do it! Keep informing them that they’re mistaken, it wasn’t your husband, it was just an accident, and that’s what they have insurance for. It’s shit for all of you but there isn’t much else you can do.

How does a fence spontaneously combust?

We dont know jazzy that's the frustrating part.

Didn't you post about this when it happened?