Neighbours coping stone has let water through causing damage to property

[CleverClogs]

Re: Neighbours coping stone has let water through causing damage to property

I am having difficulty understanding how an allegedly defective coping stone on a neighbour's wall could cause dampness to penetrate into your parents' house.

Could you post a picture, perchance?

[PlanB]

Re: Neighbours coping stone has let water through causing damage to property

I understand that insurers will not consider decorating a property where the cause of damage has not been rectified. Although Natwest made no mention of meeting decoration costs following repairs and appear to have washed their whole hands of the matter. Is this right?

Is there a legal way in which the neighbours can be held to meet the repair costs of the coping stone? Because as time goes on the damage to my parents property is worsening.

The damage was noticed over a period of time and is getting worse as you could imagine, when there rainfall is heavy.

Are we talking about just one rogue coping stone? You can get a nice Bradstone Saddleback from B & Q for only £6.88

http://www.diy.com/nav/garden/fencin...oCookies=false


Why not get an estimate for the work (which may include a bit of re-pointing) and show it to the neighbour. It may not be an expensive task to fix this problem. Your parents could consider paying for the work to be done and then claim the cost off the neighbour subsequently through the county court if necessary. So they need to lay a paper trail inviting the neighbour to fix the problem (as per the estimate) and if they refuse in writing then I would think your parents would have a good claim when you include the letter from NatWest insurance confirming the damage has been caused by the neighbour as evidence But a court would expect them to have given the neighbour the opportunity to put things right first.

I can see the insurer's point of view. Why would they pay to redecorate a property if the same thing will only happen again next time it rains

[enquirer]

Re: Neighbours coping stone has let water through causing damage to property

My parents had already spoken to their insurer (Natwest) during and after the inspection and were advised that Natwest could not take up the claim due to it being the neighbours fault, advising them to contact the neighbours insurers directly?

This is absolute bunk. They are trying to weasel out of it.

As an aside, do you have legal cover on your household insurance?

[find1]

Re: Neighbours coping stone has let water through causing damage to property

This is absolute bunk. They are trying to weasel out of it.

As an aside, do you have legal cover on your household insurance?

I'm almost certain they would have legal cover as part of at least one of their insurances. Thanks for reminding me of that

[find1]

Re: Neighbours coping stone has let water through causing damage to property

My parents have now agreed to let the neighbours undertake the work. It has been agreed that the brickwork will be fixed by the neighbour who has given a number of assurances. The only thing now is who should pay for the decoration of the affected part of the house following the repair. Natwest say it is not their responsibility, but the party who caused the damage.

[wales01man]

Re: Neighbours coping stone has let water through causing damage to property

If the neighbour is to carryout any work on your parents property MAKE sure that they have a public liability insurance the type all builders should have covers them if anything goes wrong

[des8]

Re: Neighbours coping stone has let water through causing damage to property

Natwest are probably correct. Dredging the depths of memory from when I took Chartered Insurance Institute exams, most household policies cover water damage caused by Storm &/or flood, and burst pipes, washing machines etc. They would not cover damage caused by gradual ingress of water You would have to show it was storm (which includes high winds) damage, not just normal rainfall.
Assuming the neighbours have standard household cover, this would include householders liability which would cover the original damage to the neighbours house and (again depending on the wording) any damage that occurs during the repair works.
Further the OP's parents cannot claim on the neighbour's policy. Except in very special circumstances, only a policyholder can claim on a policy.
IMO your parent's neighbours are liable for all repair costs as their faulty brickwork caused the damage, and they could claim on their policy under the liability section for reinstating your parents decoration (unless they, the neighbours, pay for it themselves). If the existing decorations are old and tired your parents may have to make a contribution for "betterment"
Overnight thoughts: I assume your parents do not have accidental damage or an all risks extention to their buildings policy. If they do, and depending on actual wording, they may have the possibility of claiming on their own policy for costs of redecoration (always subject to the excess if any)

[find1]

Re: Neighbours coping stone has let water through causing damage to property

Natwest are probably correct. Dredging the depths of memory from when I took Chartered Insurance Institute exams, most household policies cover water damage caused by Storm &/or flood, and burst pipes, washing machines etc. They would not cover damage caused by gradual ingress of water You would have to show it was storm (which includes high winds) damage, not just normal rainfall.
Assuming the neighbours have standard household cover, this would include householders liability which would cover the original damage to the neighbours house and (again depending on the wording) any damage that occurs during the repair works.
Further the OP's parents cannot claim on the neighbour's policy. Except in very special circumstances, only a policyholder can claim on a policy.
IMO your parent's neighbours are liable for all repair costs as their faulty brickwork caused the damage, and they could claim on their policy under the liability section for reinstating your parents decoration (unless they, the neighbours, pay for it themselves). If the existing decorations are old and tired your parents may have to make a contribution for "betterment"
Overnight thoughts: I assume your parents do not have accidental damage or an all risks extention to their buildings policy. If they do, and depending on actual wording, they may have the possibility of claiming on their own policy for costs of redecoration (always subject to the excess if any)

Thankyou for the good advice

[find1]

Re: Neighbours coping stone has let water through causing damage to property

Thanks too. Forgot to remind them about that...in case they forget. It's great to get the warnings on all fronts. Goes to show...two heads (or more in leaglebeagle's cases) are better than one.

[des8]

Re: Neighbours coping stone has let water through causing damage to property

Further to my earlier post, if the householder with faulty roof does claim on his insurance that company may require the OP's parents to prove liability. They might have to show the other party had failed to take reasonable care to avoid the occurrence. Would it be obvious the coping stone was faulty? did the neighbours carry out regular reasonable inspections of their property?
It might be better to negotiate with the neighbours, as at the end of it all they will still be living next door, and it's nicer without tensions!

[PlanB]

Re: Neighbours coping stone has let water through causing damage to property

I would also suggest shopping around for buildings insurance when it comes up for renewal because high street banks seldom provide the best or cheapest cover. Definitely compare the market even if you end up with a tacky nylon Meerkat with bulbous plastic eyes in the post like I did :rolleyes2: You can always give it away, although I had some difficulty finding anyone willing to re-home it.

[des8]

Re: Neighbours coping stone has let water through causing damage to property

I would also suggest shopping around for buildings insurance when it comes up for renewal because high street banks seldom provide the best or cheapest cover. Definitely compare the market even if you end up with a tacky nylon Meerkat with bulbous plastic eyes in the post like I did :rolleyes2: You can always give it away, although I had some difficulty finding anyone willing to re-home it.

The problem is always one of price and a lack of awareness by the insured of the risks they are bearing themselves.
The banks are only interested in protecting their investment, and so long as they cover Fire, Lightning Explosion & Flood they don't care!
MOST modern high street broker chains are staffed by school leavers who work on a tick box system and don't understand insurance.
Comparison sites can only give quotes on ready made packages on a one size fits all basis. If a customer doesn't know what he needs, there is nobody there to advise, and automatically he will tend to go for the cheapest without knowing what cover he does/doesn't have.
All are target driven, not customer based.

My bank manger reckoned he could cut my premiums by a third. He couldn't actually even get cover for me as the house is so old (like its owner!) but the policy he was offering was so basic I just wasn't interested.

And don't get me started on car insurance....