Home Insurance - Neighbours flood leaked into my flat

Well what a 12 hours or so it's been here.

Neighbour upstairs cistern split last night and flooded her bathropom, she didn't know where to turn water etc off and by the time we noticed the drip drip drip into our bathroom goodness only knows how much water had leaked - though judging by the rippling of my lino and the hole in my cieling and the lack of electricity I am guessing a fair bit.

So, we turned the lights and shower off in the bathroom as the water was pouring through the light filtting and down the pull cords and even though it was off the light continued to flicker on and off (2 days to late for halloween) so we tripped the fuses as I got a tad hysterical about Electricity and water.

Then a bit later there was a crash and part of the cieling (all be it not very much) is lying in the bath along with the support struts for the shower rail.

So, upstairs neighbour says her landlord will try to come round today (FFS TRY whats that about!!) - so I phoned my home insurance and it seems I am liable, well maybe liable is the wrong word but anyway its me that has to claim/foot the bill for damage to my property!

Apparently as I am the legal owner of the damaged posessions its up to me to replace/repair and nothing to do with upstairs neighbour or landlord unless I can prove they were negligemt (which in her words can be time consuming she said its negligence if someone leaves a bath running or doesnt report a fault thats been there for weeks but just an accident like burst pipes etc is not negligence!)

So My insurance premium will go up, i have the excess to pay and my crime ...to live in a flat. Got to get an electrician out now to check the electrics and state how safe or otherwise they are then get quotes for cieling and lino and have floorboards checked ...what a nightmare

Hmmmm that would be a bitter pill to swallow, i can't see how ur neighbour didn't notice the water and turn it off, why didn't she ask someone, that to me would be negligence.
In totally different countries but I thought if it was her appliances were at fault then that the damage is done is her fault.
I have no idea though about the law differences, feel for you and it would be very frustrating and upsetting for you
hugs to you and Ben

Does she not have any insurance ? If you rent you are liable to mostly to have your own contents insurance. I would of the thought the landlord should have some sort of buildings cover. The other thing is of course she may have contents insurance but if this is classed as accidental damage and she isn't covered for that she cannot claim.

Good luck with it. I would be wanting to speak to the landlord when he arrived to put some questions too him about insurance and claiming for the damage from his property. Might be you can't get anywhere but worth a try maybe.

I would have thought her insurance or the landlords insurance would need to pay for the damage to yours,

it may be worth mentioning that the flat is let out, hence the owner is making money out of it,? just a thought?

I have phoned back Insurance to check and also phoned the CAB and apparently its right - I have to claim from my insurance.

This is because there is no blame. It was "an act of god" If I could prove negligence my Insurance company would fight with their Insurance company and it would get sorted out but as it stands there was no long standing fault, she was not negligent and acted as quickly as was practicable so as she does not own any of the possessions she can't claim from her Insurance the person who owns the possessions has to claim ie me!

If she had had a leak for weeks and not seen to it it would be negligence, if she had fallen asleep with bath running it would be negligence but as it happens her cistern split causing flooding and neither she nor the landlord can be held responsible, ifthe landlord had an ancient bathroom suite it could possibly have been argued but as it happens it was replaced juust before the current tenant moved in, and if it had only been replaced a few days ago my Insurance could have argued a case with the Plumber and or the supplier but none of these apply so I have to claim off my insurance which will mean 1 will lose 1 years (10%) no claims bonus and I will have to pay the 1st £100 of the claim as is my excess

I had exactly the same thing happen to me a few years ago, I claimed on their insurance.
I can't understand how it can be down to you!!!!

Well after yesterdays disater with Sparky reccomended by a friend who came out said "Oh yeah theres water" and dried out switch then went away, still no lights phoned him back he was too busy to come out again and couldn't help so today we phoned a franchise called Mr Electric (dear - but someones insurance will be paying for it) And very scarily you know how they say there are no such thing as coincidences???

Thank goodness for flood!! Bathroom light was a diaster waiting to happen!! It wasn't earthed, the wiring was archaic (his words) the light fitting itself was burnt out but "mysteriously" still conveying a current - prob due to water in the wires as the light fitting that was there was highly unsuitable for a environment with moisture and was adding to conductivity.

We had sparks blue and orange, smoke, the electrician almost jumping off the steps, and lots of choice words. But I now have a nice new light in loo and he's coming back when I phone him to check and replace living room lights too He said to be very thankful this had been discovered.
ETA Helena54 if you are reading this I am wondering if its anything to do with the 2 white feathers I found at work today, they just floated down in front of me ever so gently

Never dismiss a feather Lynne, no matter what it's colour!!!!

Blime, you've been through it haven't you I missed this thread somehow! Thank goodness things went the way they did hey?

Reminds me of this time last year (or the year before), when all the kitchen sockets kept blowing the trip in the fuse box! Dave kept telling me to just turn it back on, and either I got a big white flash or a big bang, and I was c*apping meself I don't mind telling you!!!

It all started when I put my foot in the big water bowl by the back door, and we assumed that water had got into the double socket on the wall. Dave replaced the whole socket, it still blew. He checked all the other plugs back to the main fuse box and said all was ok, and yet, after 5 hours or so it would blow again and he just couldn't fathom it out. He even took the whole new socket off the wall, and found nothing wrong with it Thankfully, he wouldn't let it go, so he decided to chase back the wiring to the next plug along the same wall. It turned out, that when we had the lino fitted 6 years ago the lino fitter had managed to slice through the wire from this socket with his stanley blade, and it had lived quite happily like that for 6 years, until I stepped into that water bowl, made it all wet coz I kind of flooded that area, and then it burned and melted together, and our electrician friend told me that this is the classic housefire, burnt out wiring behind skirting board!!!! Now if that isn't lucky I don't know what is, and that water bowl has been there forever, and I've NEVER stepped in it, until that fateful day!

No feathers though Lynne, unless I missed them being in such a state with all that banging and flashing from the fuse box! See how somebody cares and takes care of us hey???!!!

So glad you've got a nice new sparkly loo light and get him to check out everything else re wiring, it's simple with their little gadgets! I don't listen to Dave now, if a fuse goes in the box, it goes for a REASON, and I don't just switch it back and hope for the best! Men! The electrican told me, one yeah, but never twice!!!