If water comes through from the flat above, does my insurance pay or my neighbour's?

Question

José Manuel Alburquerque · Accepted Answer

The insurance that pays is that of whoever is responsible for the place where the leak occurred. If the water comes from your neighbour's home, for example from one of their pipes, the washing machine or a tap that was left running, the neighbour is liable and pays through their liability insurance. If it comes from a common part, such as a downpipe, the owners' association is liable and pays through its own. But you do not have to wait for this to be cleared up, because if your home insurance covers water damage, your insurer pays you and then recovers what it has paid from whoever is responsible. If you have no insurance, or yours does not cover it, you can claim directly against the insurer of whoever is responsible. First things first Alert your neighbour, or the building's managing agent if your neighbour is not in, so that the water can be turned off and the leak found. Take photos and videos of the damage and of where the water is coming in. Protect anything that might get wet and stop the damage from getting worse. Any reasonable costs you incur in doing so are paid by your insurance, within the policy limits. Notify your insurer within the following seven days and ask your neighbour for the name of their insurance company and their policy number. They are obliged to provide them. Who is liable If the leak is in the neighbour's private pipework or is due to their carelessness, the neighbour is liable and their liability insurance pays. If it is in a downpipe, a rising main, the roof or any other common part, the owners' association is liable and its insurance pays. If it comes from a communal terrace for the exclusive use of the neighbour upstairs, keeping the drain clear is their job, but repairs for construction or structural defects are a matter for the owners' association, unless the damage is caused by the neighbour's misuse or poor upkeep. Many owners' association policies also insure the walls, ceilings and floors of all the flats. If that applies in your case, the damage to your home may be covered by that policy even if the leak is in private pipework. The agreement between insurers Many insurance companies have signed up to an agreement covering water damage between neighbours. As a general rule, if both companies have signed up, yours pays you and then claims the money back from your neighbour's. That agreement does not bind you, because it only binds the companies that sign it. Whatever your insurance does not pay you, such as the excess or anything above your policy limits, you can claim directly from your neighbour or their insurer.