Penalised for house insurance claim

anamcarame

We had a new boiler installed 18 months ago. the plumber did not fix it in right and all the oil leaked into our garden. We claimed off our house insurance and had an independent assessor look at the damage. We were told we would claim from our insurance and they would claim from the plumber. This would not effect our policy as it was entirely the plumbers fault. We claimed. Had the garden reinstated and 6 months later we went to renew our insurance and were told the policy was 3 time the price as the claim was outstanding. ie the insurance company had not claimed of the plumber. This is not our fault as far as I am concerned. After battling with insurance company and getting no where we went to another company who gave us premium at double original price but it was best we could get.

Original insurance company were in touch a few months ago to get details and receipts etc so they were chasing up plumber.

Our premium is due for renewal now and we are still being penalised. Our original company is quoting a really high premium and current company will not quote us as they have changed underwritter and if you have had claim over 5K in last 3 years they will not quote. Were do I go from here? Why should we apy insurance to be penalised when we claim form something which we were insured against?

ejmaztec

It's probably a bit late in the day now, but wouldn't the plumber have had his own liability insurance to cover the damage caused by him?

anamcarame

Yes he did but it was our insurance assessor who advised us to go through our house insurance. Initially the plumber said it was not his fault so it was the insurance company who proved it was his error. Hindsight, we probably should have just claimed of him but we should still not have to foot the bill because the insurance company did not claim of the plumber at the time. They took their eye of the ball not us. We were left in the middle of November with no healing and a garden contaminated with kerosene. This was not our fault and we were insured against it. At no time did the insurance company state we should clim directly of him.

dudara

Moved to Banking & Insurance & Pensions

dudara

ravima

contact your insurers and ask them why they have not pursued the plumber, if you believe that he is at fault.

Otis Driftwood

In fairness,the insurance company are well within their rights to not pay the claim or to penalise you.

As a consumer,it is up to you and you alone to ensure that when you are getting work done on your property that the tradesman is competent and that all work is carried out correctly.

If that wasnt the case then people could get any mickey mouse trades person in to do work and not have to worry about the consequences as the insurer would cover any claims caused by poor workmanship.

The duty of care lies with you as the homeowner.

Its an expensive lesson but one people should learn from.

wmpdd3

I am surprised, I would have thought the consumer would have the greatest protection in this situation, more than a sole trader and a company entity.

Maybe you should approach the independent assessor, even pursue the person legally.

oldyouth

Otis Driftwood wrote: »

In fairness,the insurance company are well within their rights to not pay the claim or to penalise you.

As a consumer,it is up to you and you alone to ensure that when you are getting work done on your property that the tradesman is competent and that all work is carried out correctly.

If that wasnt the case then people could get any mickey mouse trades person in to do work and not have to worry about the consequences as the insurer would cover any claims caused by poor workmanship.

The duty of care lies with you as the homeowner.

Its an expensive lesson but one people should learn from.

I have to agree with all that. If your own insurers have paid out a claim, they are entitled to take any course of action, with regard to your renewal premium, they deem fit until they can recoup their outlay. They are actually doing you a favour in using their resources in proving negligence against the plumber on your behalf

oldyouth

wmpdd3 wrote: »

I am surprised, I would have thought the consumer would have the greatest protection in this situation, more than a sole trader and a company entity.

Maybe you should approach the independent assessor, even pursue the person legally.

What's that about

anamcarame

Otis Driftwood wrote: »

In fairness,the insurance company are well within their rights to not pay the claim or to penalise you.

As a consumer,it is up to you and you alone to ensure that when you are getting work done on your property that the tradesman is competent and that all work is carried out correctly.

If that wasnt the case then people could get any mickey mouse trades person in to do work and not have to worry about the consequences as the insurer would cover any claims caused by poor workmanship.

The duty of care lies with you as the homeowner.

Its an expensive lesson but one people should learn from.

This plumber was approved by SEI therefore it is reasonable to assume we were getting a 'competent' plumber. And with all due respect no matter how competent a tradesman is things still do go wrong and that is one of the reasons we have our home insured. We have never had any 'mickey mouse' tradesman work in our home. Our claim was for damaged caused to our property.

ravima

If you are insured against the peril that causes the damage and your insurance company accepts this and your policy cover is in order, then your insurance MUST pay out and then seek reimbursement.

it may be that there is not enough evidence available to your insurers to go after the plumber, or indeed that the plumber may not be insured at all.

Insurance Works

I can understand your frustration in this instance, but you should just count your lucky stars that you did have property insurance. Firstly kerosene is lethal when it escapes in to the environment, we all know that it kills plant and animal life but it also kills concrete and can turn it in to a powdery cinder over time, so be all means it was essential to have this removed from your garden, imagine you thinking that everthing was fine only to discover cracks appearing in 3 or 4 years time.

The way insurance operates in these circumstances is that you claim your own property insurance, and your insurer will then file whats known as a 'recovery claim' from your plumber.

You should do all in your power to assist your insurance company in this case as recovery claims can be awkward for insurers to pursue. When the recovery claim is settled your insurance company should bring your premium back to the correct cost.

I wouldnt get to hung up on the fact that you thought you had gotten a good tradesman to carry out the repair, of course the leak shouldnt have happened, however unfortunately sometimes these things happen.

In my opinion the most important item for yourself to have in this instance would be a certificate from the oil remediation company confirming that your soil is now free from contamination and also the insurance details of the remediation company, that way if you ever have any further issues with this down the line you know who you can pursue.

Hope this helps !!