Insurance claim on damage to property.

[xcesiv]

So... i have a little bit of a problem and would love to know your thoughts

I got a phone call at 2 pm yesterday from my property manager that there was an inncident last night at 1 of my IPs.

The roof caved in on the carport onto the tenants car. not the whole roof just the underneath section, see the attached pic. The car doesnt look to have any major damage, most likely scratches and maybe a dent or 2.

My questions
1) Am i liable for the repairs to the vehicle. I talked to my insurer and they said im not liable, and that is why the tenant should have there own insurance for there vehicle and contents in the house. What do you think.

My other thoughts are. My tenant emailed my PM about 8:30 that morning saying they will call later that morning to discuss. The PM didnt notify me until after 2pm.

Should i be upset that it took nearly 5.5 hours from when they were sent the information to them notifying me.

Your thoughts.

Warren

 

[Graingrower]

Of course you are liable, your property damaged theirs. You should have public liability insurance with your house insurance that covers this.

 

[Token Funder]

So... i have a little bit of a problem and would love to know your thoughts

I got a phone call at 2 pm yesterday from my property manager that there was an inncident last night at 1 of my IPs.

The roof caved in on the carport onto the tenants car. not the whole roof just the underneath section, see the attached pic. The car doesnt look to have any major damage, most likely scratches and maybe a dent or 2.

My questions
1) Am i liable for the repairs to the vehicle. I talked to my insurer and they said im not liable, and that is why the tenant should have there own insurance for there vehicle and contents in the house. What do you think.

My other thoughts are. My tenant emailed my PM about 8:30 that morning saying they will call later that morning to discuss. The PM didnt notify me until after 2pm.

Should i be upset that it took nearly 5.5 hours from when they were sent the information to them notifying me.

Your thoughts.

Warren

The question of liability will ultimately come down to what caused the roof to collapse.

To take some hypothetical examples, if you installed the ceiling yourself, did so poorly and the workmanship is the reason she collapsed, you're probably in the frame. Equally, if it had looked iffy for some time and you or your agent should have picked it up in an inspection, potentially similar result.

Alternatively, building up to code and structurally sound but but the collapse caused by an influx of water due to a significant storm, hard to apportion fault to the property owner.

In any case, let your insurer handle it. That's what they are there for.

As far as the delay in notifying you, given they had a ceiling on their car they probably had other things on their mind

 

[Sez]

Question of liability is hard without further details and I have to agree with Token Funder here. Yes, Your tenants should have their own insurance, however if they had reported some concern with the carport roof in the past then it is an item that you were made aware of transferring liability to you.

Took 5.5hrs for you PM to notify you after the fact? That is a little concerning due to tha nature of the problem but, they told you the same day which is better than a lot of PM's , if you're happy with your Pm then don't sweat this small portion of a larger problem.