Can you claim on somebody else’s insurance?

Q I LIVE in a private, fully furnished let, recently flooded from the flat upstairs. Their boiler burst and water cascaded down.

It would have been worse had I not managed to shut off some of the water supply while a local plumber helped drain the system.

As a result of water and mess from the wrecked ceiling, my electronic gadgets including two mobile phones, a laptop, a TV set and a CD player were totally ruined. Additionally, I had personal photos in albums which were reduced to pulp.

Mine is a privately owned flat as is the one upstairs.

I’m not insured. Can I claim on their insurance?

I never bought insurance as the flat is fully furnished so I never saw the need. Gordon T

A

THERE is probably nothing you can do about water-ruined photo albums – insurance cannot restore items of purely sentimental value. Insurers might have covered a specialist restorer for items lost on your laptop’s hard disk, though.

Insurance against fire, flood and theft for personal items is easy to obtain and, had you bought cover, you could have claimed the £1,200 needed to replace the lost gadgets. That way, your insurer could have asked the insurer of the flat above for reimbursement.

This is what your landlord’s insurer will do – send the bill for repairing the ceiling and water damage to carpets and furniture to the firm covering the upstairs flat. It is clear the flood was caused by the faulty boiler upstairs – it is not a question of you having to prove negligence.

But we are where we are on insurance. You have no policy for your personal items, while your landlord is covered for both buildings and those contents that are part of the furnished let deal.

You still have legal rights, however. You lost items due to the flood and subsequent damage. You know the details of the landlord of the flat above and the managing agents she uses.

Write to both, itemising what you lost in the flood and the cost of like for like (as far as possible) replacements from high street stores. If that fails, you will have to consult a lawyer or a law centre.

You cannot claim directly on someone else’s insurance.