Neighbours Trampoline smashed my car

[cheap charlie]

2 weeks ago in a wind storm my next door neighbors trampoline cleared our fence, blew across my yard and smashed into my car. The tramp continued across the road through 2 vacant blocks and came to rest against another neighbors fence. One of the residents in the street helped me tie the tramp to a tree before it could cause any further damage.

The damage to my car was significant and in the region of a couple of thousand dollars for the repair.

This occurred at 9am in the morning and the neighbor who owned the tramp was called by his mother in-law to return home and take care of the situation.

As the Neighbor had Home and contents insurance with NRMA, it seemed as thoe the claim would be straight forward. The neighbor proceeded to a NRMA office to lodge the claim. A few hours latter I received a knock at the door and the Neighbor informed me that NRMA had verbally stated that the damage to my vehicle could not be covered by the policy as the trampoline had left the neighbors property and collided with my car as an "Act Of God" and that I would need to claim on my car insurance. Problem being, the car is only valued at $4000 and as such was only insured for 3rd party fire & theft. Being a non comprehensive policy, the insurance does not extend to such an incident.

Concluding that the neighbor may have gotten a bum steer I investigated the policy and read through the PDS. I could not find any thing relating to act of god and also noted the policy had coverage for liability. an example of liability coverage used in the PDS was, you are riding a push bike and cause a car accident. Under the liability you are covered for the event (or similar ).

A couple of days later discussing the matter further with the neighbor, he informed me that he had contacted the insurance ombudsman. He informed me that I should also contact them. I saw little point as I am not the consumer but contacted them on his instance. They told me that they could not assist me and that I should contact the Insurance Law Center. Thinking I may be getting some where, I made the call and briefly discussed the issue with them. On noting the " Act of God " the lady laughed and indicated that the neighbor needs to make contact with the Insurance Law Center and suggested that the act of god clause should not be an issue.

I approached the neighbor and passed on the information. That was last Thursday. Today (Wednesday the 4th) the Neighbor knocked on the door, informed me he spoke with a representative at the Insurance Law Center. He stated that the person he spoke with informed him that their was nothing he could do and that the Act Of God clause stood. Further in the conversation he informed me that he felt that he was not liable as it was an act of god that caused the trampoline to leave his yard and cause damage to my car. He offered alternative suggestions to rectify the situation. One of which was to upgrade my vehicle insurance to Comprehensive (at my cost), await the next high wind situation and claim the incident then. Given that he was talking about insurance fraud i suggested that I was not willing to do so. Not only would it be illegal, i would be paying approximately another 3 - 400 dollars for the extra insurance plus the cost of the excess plus the increased premium for 5 years as I would have a claim against my insurance history.

At this point I am unsure as to what my next move should be. I was going to list the vehicle for sale but can not do so until the damage is rectified. It has been 2 weeks since the incident occurred.

I can not find any legal documentation to clarify as to if the neighbor is Liable in the eye's of the law. I am hoping that I can arm my self with how i stand legally but can not afford to seek paid legal advice at this stage. The neighbor seems to be convinced that he is not liable for the incident. Common Sense suggests otherwise... At the time of the incident the neighbor also stated that if home and contents did not extend to the incident that he could claim he collided into my car with his. He also damaged the roof of his own car in an attempt to claim the trampoline had collided with it also.

Any suggestions?

[Yowie]

You could always visit the Chamber Magistrate at your local court, for free advice, or, enquire about a Small Debts Summons from the court. You will need a written quote from a qualified vehicle repairer outlining the damage and amount sought in compensation, also photographs of the damage to your vehicle and the trampoline if you have them.

Edited July 4, 2012 by yowie

[cheap charlie]

You could always visit the Chamber Magistrate at your local court, for free advice,

Excellent, Will do that.

You will need a written quote from a qualified vehicle repairer outlining the damage and amount sought in compensation, also photographs of the damage to your vehicle and the trampoline if you have them.

Appreciate the advice. Thank you

[Testlab]

Also get a statutory declaration from the person who helped you secure the tramp and other witnesses. You are absolutely within your right to sue for compensation due to your neighbors negligence. There may be a get out clause for the insurance company (and if they were sued for coverage they would likely concede) but this is no defense to your neighbors negligence. It's a simple court matter.

You will need to have the car repaired or otherwise have the loss assessed in order to establish a claim. Then start a small claims court action as suggested above. You don't have much other choice.