Should I claim off neighbour's insurance after a fire?

[FireAdvice]

My neighbour has "accidentally" set my massive conifer hedge on fire today - lost the garden office, two sheds, lots of bikes, loads of stuff, etc. Obviously the main thing is we are OK.

I have rung my insurance and they have said that I have to pay a £350 excess and they will cover other stuff. A friend has said I should claim on the neighbours insurance as then I won't be liable for an excess and also my insurance won't go up next year - how do I do that? Do I just ask the neighbour for their insurance details?

Have also lost about 30ft length of 9ft high conifer hedge - all the back boundary and half of the side boundary. But there is another 20ft of conifer hedge nearer the house still intact. My insurance have told me to get a quote for stump removal and fence instillation - can I ask for all the length of the hedge including the non damaged hedge to be removed and fenced the full length - it will look stupid having half fence and half hedge?

Ultimately though I guess what he’s said in the past is no proof/evidence he’s done anything malicious with intent. I can have suspicions but they won’t get me anywhere.

he was working on his car maybe 12 ft from the hedge Seems a long distance for anything hit to accidentally get to the hedge. But then he said something about throwing a hot piece of metal into the hedge as it caught him by surprise. Then he denied that to someone else. The fire fighter said a hot piece of metal wouldn’t ignite a hedge anyway, that there had to be a flame.

so was there a spark? Who knows. He said he was welding, then he said he wasn’t. He does do welding and the car was jacked up 🤷🏻‍♀️

but if he wasn’t welding as he’s currently insisting then how else was a flame introduced to the hedge?

But actually on TikTok i believe I’ve said he hates the hedge and that he’s set fire to it but not that he set it on fire because he hates it.

I do believe he’s responsible for the cause and I do believe he doesn’t like the hedge. I accept it could possibly have been an accident.

I accept it could possibly have been an accident.

Hmm. If you were a judge what would you think? I'd be: I can't say for sure and accept it possibly could be an accident but if this was phone a friend and how sure are you it was deliberate, I would say 96%

You claim on your insurance. You don’t even know if he’s insured? Your insurance company will get the money back from his insurance if he has it. You cannot claim on something you haven’t paid for. It’s not your insurance if it’s your neighbours.

OP

Any updates?

A cautionary tale

https://www.somersetlive.co.uk/news/somerset-news/somerset-garden-blaze-quickly-escalates-10213346

A Google search suggests that this sort of incident is common

Its light on detail but its why you need to get The Authorities to take action against your neighbour

He has apologised. I do feel he’s genuinely sorry. He insists he didn’t do it on purpose. Says he’s never been so scared. So I think we may have a slight truce. Dd thinks I’m gullible but even if I am it’s the best way forward.

clean up continues. I’ve spent all day seeing what I can wipe down out the office to salvage. Taken the sofa covers on and they’re currently washing. Steam cleaned the rest of the sofa. Salvaged most of my text books, they’re a bit singed but not worth claiming for. Most of my art supplies are ok. Lost a lot of pads of art paper and some of my paintings, sketchbooks but the actual paints and brushes are ok.

hope I can get the sofa covers back on 🤣🙈

Scary. Found out today that the fence of my neighbour two doors down caught fire in all of this, must have been from a spark which travelled. The fence panel was right next to their house. Fire brigade had gone by then 🙈. Luckily another neighbour noticed and put it out.

scary that the fire brigade maybe hadn’t checked a bit more 🤷🏻‍♀️

When our neighbour caused a fire which spread to our fence and garden building, we thought that our insurers would claim off theirs (as it was their fault after all) but they didn’t.

We simply claimed on ours, paid the excess and had double the premium the next time we renewed!

OK, so he's apologised.

Is he going to pay for the damage?

Because apologising is free.

Replacing your stuff isn't.

I warned him my insurance will probably be in touch with his insurance and he said that’s fine.

I suspect that might happen with us sadly

If this does happen your neighbour needs to pay for it.

That is horrendous OP.
I really think you need to employ a loss adjuster to represent you.

You will never get that smell out so don't waste your time.

My friend had an electrical fire in her house years ago. The experienced, recommended loss adjuster on her behalf got her a fully renovated house and a complete new wardrobe.
Worth every penny of his percentage.

Don't negotiate alone.
Get someone who will get you the best deal.
I wouldn't believe your neighbour.
That was malicious.

He just didn't expect it to be so serious and he did get a fright no doubt.
But he likely caused it.

Glad to hear that he's apologised OP, how did that happen, did he come round to your house specifically to say sorry, or did he speak to you in the garden? Serves him right if he was scared, it was a reckless thing to be doing, after we've had so much dry weather.

I was well known in our area at one time, for my garden bonfires, as we bought a house with a very large garden which had been neglected for years, so there was always heaps of garden rubbish to be disposed of. However, I would NEVER light a fire, until I'd checked to see if anyone had washing out, and I'd attached the garden hose, ready to go the moment anything went wrong, which is just simple common sense!

I really hope you manage to get this sorted out, without it costing you too much money. Good luck!

@Pickingdates hsve just been googling about employing a loss assessor. Seems they normally get 10% of the final claim. So if the settlement is 40k then they get 4k and I’m left with 36k, so I’d be 4k out of pocket. Which i wouldn’t be happy about.

id like to think I can negotiate a fair settlement. We have new for old and like for like. I have made a lengthy list of what we have lost down to the blinds in the garden office and the cost of the paint for the office and preserver for the sheds. I am currently putting a price next to each of these items and will add it up and not accept anything less.

so not sure I’d be better off with a loss assessor. I obviously can’t claim for anything extra/different and therefore a loss assessor can’t add anything more to the claim to make it worthwhile employing them. Maybe the insurance firm will try and give me the run around but ultimately I will have a price I’m going to be insisting on.

@BakelikeBertha he saw me in the garden and came to the boundary and spoke to me.

I understand your hesitation.
However, could you do a consultation with them?
My friend was stunned with all the additional stuff they added.

I have no connection whatsoever to one, but I absolutely wouldn't hesitate if it was me.

Are you pricing in the clean up and removal of all the mess?

The digging and planting of a new hedge?

Could you at least ask a loss assessor for a consult to see is it worth your while.

My friend paid 10k for his services, but she said he paid for himself with his professionalism and knowledge.

He made it painless.
Its worth a phonecall.

Yes, am including the entire work for stump removal and fence.

insurance company are engaging a firm to do the clean up.

Fire service can’t do anything. What do you expect them to do?

Perhaps start a new thread about additional costs that you need to be aware of.

My friend had a gorgeous wardrobe of clothes.
Dry cleaning of 1k couldn't remove the small, despite their best efforts.

Don't waste your time, just add in all soft furnishings to be replaced.

Well they have a record of call outs and what happened for starters

I am not sure what their statutory powers are but clearly they can give the details of what happened and their concerns

They did talk about the ability to give community orders to people banning them from further bonfires.

@FireAdvice hope I can get the sofa covers back on 🤣🙈

good luck with that!! it took me 2.5 hours to get a cover back onto one cushions!!! knackered!!

then I read if you wrap it one way in plastic, it slides in easier, then you just pull the plastic out!!

Thats what you need then