How do i claim on my neighbours home insurance after her fire?

Question

My neighbour had a house fire 8 weeks ago, it spread into my attic but no major damage to the actual house. I want to claim against her contents insurance but she wont give me the details ( she does have insurance ). Dont see why i should have to pay an excess and ruin my insurance for something i didnt cause. I have written to her and confronted her and all she does is hides from me. She is now in temp accomodation while her house is repaired. How do i find out who she is insured with, there must be a way. Cheers

Answer 1

You don't. You claim on your own insurance and let *them* chase down your neighbours insurance company.

Answer 2

I would have thought that you would submit your claim against her not her insurance company.  Who she insures with would be her business.  It then comes down to her to forward your claim to her insurance company.  If a problem developes I suggest you consult a Solicitor, also at her expense

Answer 3

Seems strange that house fires come in threes. Have you noticed!!!

Answer 4

Bad news, your easiest, least stressful course of action is to claim on your insurance and let them get on with it. It's not your responsibility to find out who she's insured with, it's down to your insurers, as they will seek to make a recovery of damages from her insurers, and these companies are extremely proficient at doing so. You will presumably need to claim on both your buildings & contents cover, as I would imagine there will be at the very least smoke damage to decoration & furnishings. Basically, anything that you'd take with you if you moved house is covered under your contents policy, anything fixed down is under buildings cover. Most insurers these days use preferred contractors such as Chem-Dry or Asprea to carry out repairs or renewals, so the old system of having to shop around for three separate estimates etc is redundant. If you have buildings & contents cover with the same insurer then you only pay your excess once. However, if you have them with separate companies then your excesses will apply to both policies; your insurers or citizen's advice will be able to advise you how to recover your excess(es) from your selfish neighbour.

Oh, and one word of comfort; buildings insurance isn't like car insurance in that it goes up if you make a claim; unless you've made lots of claims in a short period of time then making a claim this time will not affect your premium.

Answer 5

As TallPaul says, contact your own insurers, explain the circumstances and let them sort it out.  It's what you pay them for.

Answer 6

The local fire marshall may have this info..alot they get this type of info to see if the house was HEAVILY insured against fire in case one may have been purposely set..I'm sure this is not the case at all.. but they usuallty obtain this info for preliminary purposes..

Answer 7

You need to claim through your insurance company, but give them her details so they can then claim the costs back on your behalf. You will have to pay your xs, but then your company should help you to claim this back also. By law, she cannot deny you the insurance company details, and if she does not believe you are looking to make a valid claim, she would need to seek legal advice through her company.

Answer 8

If she won't talk to you , you may have to take legal advice or go to the small claims court. Get a quote for the damage and send a copy to her and then get a solicitor to write a letter.

Answer 9

Burn a bit more of your house first, then rob-them-blind.