An interesting storm damages enquiry we had from a client this week was, my neighbours tree fell onto my shed after the recent storm damage, can I claim from my neighbour?

We give our expert loss assessor opinion hereunder, 

The ruling from Rylands v Fletcher [1868] UKHL states that people are responsible for their own property except in the case of negligence or pollution therefore as a tree falling from storm damage onto your property from your neighbour wouldn’t be considered either, it would be the case that you would make an insurance claim via your own policy.

Had the client of being reminding his neighbour about the tree that it was a danger and looked to be about to fall, there could be an argument for negligence especially if the tree was rotten in the centre.

As there was an insurance policy in place for this event causing storm damages, we cited that it was best for our client to claim from his own policy, they appointed us to act on their behalf and insurers appointed their own loss adjuster.

The shed in question had render cracks, which penetrated into the block work, the insurers loss adjuster initially tried to deny that there was cause to rebuild the shed however it was demonstrated on site that the shed needed to be demolished and rebuilt.

It would seem unfair, if the policyholder didn’t receive the compensation he deserved to repair his loss after the storm damages, a qualified loss assessor can help in respect of these circumstances and will update you of all the events within your claim.

Insurers do try and save costs wherever possible and unfortunately when you make a claim, that cost is you.

Should you wish to contact us in relation to any insurance claim, please don’t hesitate to contact us.