Please or to access all these features

Add post

Watch this thread

Save thread

Start a new thread

Flip thread

Hide thread

My feed

Active Unanswered threads

Getting started FAQ's

Unanswered threads Acronyms Talk guidelines

Hide shortcut buttons

Talk

Legal matters

Mumsnet has not checked the qualifications of anyone posting here. If you have any legal concerns we suggest you consult a solicitor.

Flip

Original poster

Personal Liability Home Insurance Claim

15 replies

Tuscan9 · 07/08/2023 16:08

I stayed at a Bed & Breakfast (not Airbnb) in Scotland and made a spill/stain on their brand new, wool carpet which they're unable to get out (£1450 for a new carpet - I've phoned around and this is a realistic cost for the expensive carpet), and subsequently they are telling me they need an entire new carpet, as in the process of my trying to get rid of the stain (rubbing it for 10 minutes), this has damaged the carpet further.

As my travel insurance won't cover it (weirdly, they would cover it if it was outside of the UK - where I live), I have attempted to make a claim on my home insurance (Admiral) under "Personal Liability". Here is the terms of my insurance:

(II) Personal liabilityYour or your family’s liability after an accidentthat happened during the period of insurance,within the territorial limits, and caused thefollowing.

Death, disease, illness or physical injury to aperson
Damage to physical property that you, yourfamily or anyone else permanently living withyou, including your domestic staff, do not ownand are not responsible for

The problem is, my insurance company are unwilling to accept any claim unless the Bed & Breakfast owner has made a claim, however the owner is refusing to make a claim as they have a large excess and it's a black mark against their name with insurers (which would likely put up their premium).
My question is: Are the insurance company trying to pull the wool over my eyes in not accepting the claim? I wonder - if I accidentally damaged a property outside of my house of which I was sent a bill for repair, but they had no has no insurance cover, should my insurance company still reject the claim?

Also, any further advice would be appreciated if anyone has ideas for me to save cost.

OP posts:

mushti · 07/08/2023 16:22

You wait for the hotel's "dear Madam unless" letter, and forward it to your insurer. They should step into your shoes to cover your liability, under the terms of the policy you paid for.

If your insurance company refuse your claim - you have an argument with your insurance company about it, but you're still on the hook to the hotel.

FatAgainItsLettuceTime · 07/08/2023 16:25

Why would it be you or your insurance covering the cost?

The b&B should have their own insurance which will cover accidental damage, surely at most you would be expected to cover an excess dependant on what was in your contract with the B&B.

FatAgainItsLettuceTime · 07/08/2023 16:28

Have you checked what they have in the T&Cs you agreed to when booking about accidental damage?

daffodilandtulip · 07/08/2023 16:32

I don't understand why it isn't their insurance they make a claim on?

Parky04 · 07/08/2023 16:34

You will need to see the T&C of the booking. Are you responsible for damages?

Hoppinggreen · 07/08/2023 16:37

If the hotel is insured for this them they claim on their insurance, it’s what it’s for

Original poster

Tuscan9 · 07/08/2023 16:49

So the terms and conditions on their website (where we made the booking) state that any damage is payable by the guest.

I have attempted to get the owner to make a claim under their insurance, but his reply was:

"If it was us that did the damage we'd make a claim, but as it's not we don't want a red mark against our name on our insurance as it will push our premiums up in future".

Whilst I think this is unreasonable, I'm not sure if i can force him to claim unless I simply say I won't pay? And then I'm not sure whether he would back down and claim, or take legal proceedings against me.

OP posts:

Original poster

Tuscan9 · 07/08/2023 16:55

mushti · 07/08/2023 16:22

You wait for the hotel's "dear Madam unless" letter, and forward it to your insurer. They should step into your shoes to cover your liability, under the terms of the policy you paid for.

If your insurance company refuse your claim - you have an argument with your insurance company about it, but you're still on the hook to the hotel.

I think this will be my next step. My question to the insurance company was "What if the person claiming for damages didn't have insurance? Would I just not be covered?", and they told me no I wouldn't - Any correspondence needs to come from their insurance company.

OP posts:

JesusMaryAndJosephAndTheWeeDon · 07/08/2023 16:59

It doesn't matter whether the hotel notify their insurers or not. Your insurers will only pick it up if the hotel are sueing you or threatening to.

Let the hotel crack on and forward any correspondence to your insurance

Original poster

Tuscan9 · 07/08/2023 17:23

JesusMaryAndJosephAndTheWeeDon · 07/08/2023 16:59

It doesn't matter whether the hotel notify their insurers or not. Your insurers will only pick it up if the hotel are sueing you or threatening to.

Let the hotel crack on and forward any correspondence to your insurance

Ok thanks for the advice. I've asked for an official letter from the bnb owner requesting reimbursement for the carpet which I'll send to my insurer and see what they make of it.

Their reason for not accepting the claim over the phone was "It's somebody else's carpet, so you can't make a claim for it unless they make a claim under their insurance".

Maybe if my insurance company see it as me being threatened to be sued, they'll see it as a different type of claim to simply "carpet damage"?

OP posts:

prh47bridge · 07/08/2023 18:17

daffodilandtulip · 07/08/2023 16:32

I don't understand why it isn't their insurance they make a claim on?

OP has said they don't want to due to the excess and possible increase to their premium. Even if they did, it wouldn't take away OP's liability for the damage she has caused.

mushti · 07/08/2023 18:39

Their reason for not accepting the claim over the phone was "It's somebody else's carpet, so you can't make a claim for it unless they make a claim under their insurance".

Ah.

Whether you're covered or not depends on the wording of your policy. It may be that accidental damage to your own household possessions are covered, but accidental damage that you cause to other people's possessions are not.

It sounds like what they're trying to tell you is that you're not covered for damage to other people's stuff. Which may be true. It's just expressed awkwardly, as if your insurance company had anything to do with them having insurance (it doesn't).

So your insurance may be no use to you after all, and if they don't want to claim on theirs, they absolutely don't have to - it's you that owes them.

Ariela · 07/08/2023 18:59

I don't understand why they are not getting it repaired. If it's a relatively new good quality carpet and they can get more of it, then it's absolutely possible to cut out the stained area, and replace with a piece absolutely invisibly.
We have a patch in our carpet on the edge near the patio doors it was a section added when they were replaced and a wood strip was removed, I can no longer recall exactly how big a bit was added (25 years ago - it's a wool Axminster)

See

I would suggest the cost should be no more than £150-200 maximum (get some quotes), based on what we paid back then (about £40)

I suggest this is what they're intending to do.
I would find a reputable carpet fitter /supplier near the AirBnB and ask for a quote for labour.

How to Replace Patches of Carpet : Carpet Installation & Maintenance

Subscribe Now:http://www.youtube.com/subscription_center?add_user=ehowatHomeChannelWatch More:http://www.youtube.com/ehowatHomeChannelRemoving patches of car...

https://youtu.be/f9V8dekSg18

Ariela · 07/08/2023 19:02

*sorry posted too soon.

I'd then offer 'cost of labour to repair + cost of a 1m piece of similar quality carpet ' plus £50-100 in full and final settlement .

cansu · 09/08/2023 10:57

They need to first get a carpet cleaner out to see if they can remove the stain. Then as above they should repair rather than replace. I would maybe wrn people not to stay on this bnb unless they take out their own insurance against damage. Most people running a bnb would know that spills etc happen. I personally wouldn't want to stay somewhere where I might be billed a large amount for accidental damage.

Flip