Car insurance question.

[benjamin_c]

I know this isn't really business related but i expect that there's someone on here who will have some info for me on this matter, My brothers car was parked in his parking space and a tree fell leaving it very badly damaged, along with several other cars and damage to the building, the tree was on council land so i expect they take liability but i'm not 100% sure what the legal stand point is, will it be upto the car insurance company to pay out or will the council have to cover the costs?

thanks

 

[Merchant UK]

I know this isn't really business related but i expect that there's someone on here who will have some info for me on this matter, My brothers car was parked in his parking space and a tree fell leaving it very badly damaged, along with several other cars and damage to the building, the tree was on council land so i expect they take liability but i'm not 100% sure what the legal stand point is, will it be upto the car insurance company to pay out or will the council have to cover the costs?

thanks

It's going to depend on how both of the insurance policies read and what the insurance claims adjusters decide in regards as to how it happened.

i.e, was the tree dead already and a hazard waiting to happen? Then it's your Council's insurance that will end up paying. also, was it a healthy tree and just knocked down by a storm, then it's your insurance, and so on, there are hundreds of scenarios.
I would suggest, unless the damage is very minor, that you go ahead and contact your insurance company and they will come out and evaluate the situation, and they will collect from the Council if need be, you don't have to do much except report it.

 

[benjamin_c]

The tree was rotten inside apparantly.

http://www.thisislocallondon.co.uk/news/8360425.Trees_collapse_on_Harpenden_flats/

 

[Merchant UK]

The tree was rotten inside apparantly.

In that case i'd guess that it would be very hard for the council not to accept liability, Did you take any pictures, close ups of the rotten parts??,

I'd guess the council will probably clear it up prety quick and may even qiute "Act of God", But if the tree was rotton, and it belonged to the council then they have a duty of care, which includes making sure trees under their control are safe and secure.

Just seen the pictures, Thank god no one was hurt

 

[benjamin_c]

Thanks for the info, yeah close up pics have been taken.

 

[Astaroth]

Legal section may have been better placed but as has been said, you need to be able to prove negligence on behalf of the council to "prove" their liability.

The insurers of the vehicle should deal with all of it on your behalf once they have settled the claim for the damage but don;t expect them to waive the excess as these kinds of cases tend to be long and painful.

Just because a tree is rotten doesn't automatically mean the council is liable, if they can show if they have been inspecting them at an appropriate frequency, that there had been no complaints raised to them and there was no signs of problems at the last inspection then bad luck, its an Act of God.

Unfortunately its been too many years since I did my motor claims handling to remember what the guidelines were for trees to give any more specific advice on what the guidelines are

 

[familydayout]

As always mate, read the small print on your policy docs. Someone should be liable either way though.