Party wall chimney removal - no insuarnce

[electrospark]

Hi

I'm removing a chimney from a party wall. A surveyor has drawn up plans etc and this will also be signed off by the council.
The guy doing the job for me is a relative and a retired builder so has done plenty of this type of work.
My neighbour is concerned about liability insurance, ie if the chimney fell down due to our work, which isn't going to happen but is a fair point.
The builder doesn't have this so where do I stand? I can't see my building insurance covering this.
Where do I stand? Can I put insurance in place of some sort?

Thanks

 

[^woody^]

Even if insured, there is no guarantee that the insurers will pay out for any claim. The insured would have to be really negligent for his insurers to pay out, and if the chimney or anything else fell down, then that in itself is not an indication of negligence

People think that just because someone has insurance, everything will be hunky dory, but its a false sense of security as insurance companies don't want to pay out if they can help it.

If you are confident with your relative's ability, then just let him carry on

In reality, your neighbour is covered by his own insurance, so he should not worry

 

[electrospark]

Thanks woody. What can tell my neighbour though? I have written up a party wall agreement but still waiting for the response from them. Until they are happy i'm not going to get it. What there anything else I can put in place to satisfy them?

 

[^woody^]

You would need to state that you will be responsible for any damage or loss.

A typical clause in any PW Award may mention that the Building Owner will indemnify the Adjoining Owner against any loss or damage or injury etc and provide sight of relevant insurance policies and proof of premium being paid. It's not a prerequisite, but may be good practice when surveyors draw up an Award.

If your neighbour is dead set on some insurance, then you will need to get some - which may be cheaper than if he dissents and you end up engaging two surveyors