Hard fought victory

In June 2004 a wealthy family were made to discover that their multimillion pound home had been invaded by a large group of so called “travellers”.  Whilst the home had been briefly unoccupied for a short time this well organised group of travellers broke into the property and commenced a three day campaign of ‘partying’ or more accurately described wanton, vandalism and theft. Local police attended, however by the time they arrived the travellers were well ensconced and to the family’s dismay the police reported that they were unable to do anything to remove the offenders.

Over subsequent days the family looked on as not only the house but their swimming pool and cars were smashed, broken and burnt.  Only after around five days and a hurriedly obtained Court Order did the travellers aggressively concede defeat and leave.

To add to the family’s woes they quickly discovered that the home insurance policy on the property had lapsed.  Such was the family’s disappointment with the performance of the police they instigated a complaint. The Police’s own internal investigation indicated that their officer’s performance had fallen below the standard expected of them and disciplinary charges were preferred.  Thompson & Bryan loss assessors were contacted by the estranged wife of the property owner who still had an interest in a considerable amount of the property inside the home.  Having initially advised the victim of this crime that there was little that could be done on our part due to the lack of insurance we advised her to consult with solicitors.

Over two years later in late 2006 we were contacted again.  It became apparent that the solicitors appointed to pursue a compensation claim against the police had been dilatory in their approach to the matter and had simply failed to advance the liability action or prepare any details of the claim itself.  Such was the despondency of the lady with her solicitors and the stress and anxiety caused by the whole affair, she instructed Thompson & Bryan to attempt to progress matters on her behalf.

We quickly brought ourselves up to speed with the history of the case and visited the property to conduct a detailed site measured survey.  We also recorded dozens of photographs of what remained in the property for evidence purposes.  In the weeks and months that followed we worked alongside our client to compile every last detail of the property that was lost, its replacement value and any proof of its original purchase which culminated in a schedule of claim being prepared.  Matters were further complicated when other estranged family members also lay claim to the property belonging to our client.  The antipathy between family members was such that our client’s claim was being obstructed on what could only be described as vexatious grounds.

Eventually these obstacles were overcome and in June 2009 a negotiated settlement was reached with the police authority.  The settlement, whilst not fully reflecting the true cost of the whole unsavoury episode to our client went a long way to assist in rebuilding her life and restructuring her finances which had been placed under considerable strain as a result of the incident.  In conclusion, the client reported “I just wanted to express my appreciation for all your help and support and for achieving the best outcome possible given all the obstacles.  I do not think I would have reached a conclusion if it had not been for your diplomacy, tactics and professional expertise”.

The case serves as firm evidence of Thompson & Bryan’s willingness to persevere in difficult circumstances even where direct insurance is not always available to reimburse the loss.  It is an unfortunate fact that in modern society this type of incident could befall any householder and there are therefore two immediate and important lessons that should be borne in mind, namely:

1. Maintain regular checks on your own insurance arrangements to ensure you have current valid cover.
2. In the event that you leave your home or premises unoccupied for any period longer than 14 days it is worthwhile notifying your insurance company in order that any potential losses could not be avoided on the grounds of policy conditions.