oil leak next door

T

trevork

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I live in a semi-d and the oil tank next door sprung a leak (the pipe from the tank to the boiler to be exact). The tank is about 4 feet from the house.It probably happened about three months ago when i first noticed the smell, but it seemed to go away and come back, plus I was away from the house on occasions due to work committments. I now have a constant smell of kerosene in my living room which shares the wall with next door. I expect the oil has gone underground and been absorbed into the cavity.
My question is would this be covered on my insurance policy (AIB), or do I need the landlord next door to sort the problem. I would like to go ahead myself and get it fixed rather than wait for him to proceed.

Also I notice on my policy that i have a discount for an alarm which i intended to install when i bought the house, but have yet to do so. would this invalidate my policy?

thanks
 
I think you should contact your insurer in the first instance to see if you are covered they should be able to tell you over the phone.If you are covered your insurer should pay you and then go after the person next door
With regard to the alarm I don't really know, but how many years you have taken the discount for may count eg was it a one off oversight or an ongoing discount taken over a number of years
 
trevork said:
Also I notice on my policy that i have a discount for an alarm which i intended to install when i bought the house, but have yet to do so. would this invalidate my policy?
Click to expand...

I know if you state you have an alarm, and don't have it set when you leave the house, and someone breaks in (therefore the alarm wouldnt activate) it will void your policy.

I'd imagine this would be the same with you, as an alarmed house would mean a cheaper premium.

With regards the oil leak, I would ring the insurers and explain the situation, asking them about it.

If I were you, I would install any old working alarm in the meantime to ensure your policy is up to scratch.
 
thanks for info.
it is only my second year, and it renewed automatically. I think i will install the alarm to be on the safe side.
a specialist cleaner is coming to inspect the damage this afternoon, and i will contact the insurance company when i know more.

I suppose the question is should i maintain that the leak was on my side, making me look negligent, but at the same time allowing me to claim?
 
I'm not really sure how it would go with it being your neighbour at fault. Perhaps his insurance would be the way to go, however that could be messy and very long drawn out. Do you have your policy documents?

I would definatly install an alarm, even if it is a cheap version.
 
As far as i know you have a very limited time in which to notify insurance company about this claim. Prob should tell neighbour to go to his insurer as well. Will prob to easily sorted out. The insurance company will have a panel of rehabilitation companies that they regularly use. They ll bill insurer and handle it from start to finish
 
Re your oil smell, I had a similar problem some years ago, I was the one with the leak. My, not so friendly neighbor sent me a solicitors letter. My responsibility was to remove 6 of his blocks in order for him to be able to have an engineer inspect the damage. In the end there was no damage and he had to have the blocks replaced, he paid the engineer.
 
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