Any experiance with claiming on liability insurance?

[iain85]

Happy New Year all!

After returning from holiday I had a call from good customers of mine who have had a leak on an old bath tap connector and has brought part of the ceiling down. I changed from gravity hw to combi boiler about 6 weeks ago and at the time did warn that some times leaks can present themselves when making the swap to mains pressure.
i went out today as soon as I heard and fixed the fault free of charge but offered to contact my liability insurance to which they accepted.
i do feel a little hard done by as I checked the connection before I left but since they are regulars I promised to ask the insurers to look at it for them.

The bathroom is properly old and is getting replaced soon so is one of those things but hey Ho.

so my question is has anyone gone through their liability insurance before and if so how do I go about it?t

Ta

 

[Ray Stafford]

I hope that you have not admitted liability Iain?

From what you have said, this is not down to you. Did you install the tap connector?

 

[Destroyer2813]

Wouldn't be going through my insurance for that you explained the possibility of leaks and should of put it in writing,

 

[iain85]

No admitted liability just offered to ask the question based on the situation. I'm 100% not at fault but refitted a new connector and repiped a short section for them foc as a gesture of good will. The old connector has been on there 20 years +.

 

[iain85]

Haven't got any disclaimer documents sadly and this is the first time one would come in handy. Any links to a generic one which is legally binding?

 

[Destroyer2813]

To put it bluntly how can a 20 year old fitting leaking be your fault. The one time i had to claim of my pl the they stated it is down to the householder to maintain there property and it is down to them to prove your neglgence

 

[hammers4spanner]

I have just gone through my PI and if you can avoid it I would as it will suck up some time which can be annoying.don't sound like you have done anything wrong tho imho so why bother on this occasion

 

[SimonG]

Should always have "Cannot gaurantee any existing pipework and fittings.". I would have charged to repair no matter how good a customer. Insurance company will want to know why you didnt charge.

 

[mfgs]

Its an existing fitting, you cannot possibly be responsible. Yes you should have warned the customers of the risk, but ultimately it could have started leaking anyway even with a gravity set up.

 

[iain85]

I know , the issue is that I connected the hw supply from the combi to the pipe about 1 metre away from the fitting and the ex mechanic customer muted that I probably disturbed the connection which while possible can't be the whole reason as was fine when I left. They are genuinely nice people but feel a bit stuck on this to be fair.

 

[iain85]

Cheers all, I will call them and explain as such and see what goes. Ta

 

[smtplumbing]

tbh iain how do you not no the leak was cause by them eg lose tap ?

 

[smtplumbing]

i would not go tho you P I as you will get utter hammered

 

[iain85]

Hammered for not having a disclaimer ?

 

[smtplumbing]

no i mean when you come to go to renew it will shoot up

 

[Killy Bing]

How much do you pay now?

it will shoot up
if its a small section, i'd get someone in to patch it up outside of a claim

how can i put it.
paying 300 quid now is better than paying an extra 75 quid for the next 40 years

 

[iain85]

Ah, defo give it a miss then. I thought it was not based on claims just risk? They don't seem to take my no claims into account year on year?,

 

[hammers4spanner]

Don't always shoot up ,if it's minor work then will prob stay same

 

[Killy Bing]

I think public liability works different to car insurance and such?
Ray will know more than me!

just realised it's you iain!
hope it isnt too bad

 

[iain85]

Tis me billy! Let not do a repeat this week! Lol
see you tomorrow lad.

 

[Ray Stafford]

Ray will know more than me!

Probably not Billy. We don't often claim on our PL. We get some employers liability stuff, but most of our insurance risk is in vehicles, stock and buildings.

 

[Killy Bing]

Don't jinx us....

You need a photo for your ukpf account!

i'll get a suitible mugshot tomorrow...

 

[IDCHAPPY]

Sounds like you weren't to blame dude, any increase in pressure can lead to occasional problems like you warned them of

 

[Ray Stafford]

Disclaimers don't actually help very much in court. If the judge thinks your punter's statutory rights are at stake, all the disclaimers in the world won't make a difference. Similarly if the judge decides you aren't to blame, then the absence of a disclaimer won't hurt.

Their greatest value is in making the customer understand the reality of the situation BEFORE it happens, so that they are more understanding if the worst happens, and so they don't get wound up by family members or the bloke down the pub into making a silly speculative claim.

 

[Roger Welton]

At the end of the day, when you convert to a pressurised system you are never going to replace every joint / washer / piece of pipe, nor would it be feasible to try and do so. I would probably have made a good will gesture (without prejudice is the legal mumbo jumbo) of repairing the leak but making good any damage deff not.