Insurance

The London Borough of Sutton handles claims on behalf of the Royal Borough of Kingston, and any claims made will be processed and handled by Sutton's in-house Claims Team.

If something happens to you, or to your property, and you believe that we’re at fault, you may be able to make a claim for compensation.

Just because an accident has happened, it does not mean that we are legally liable.  As we have a duty to protect the public funds that we administer, we can only pay claims if we are legally liable.

Making a liability claim

In order for a liability claim to be successful, it will be necessary for you to prove negligence or breach of statutory duty on the part of the council.

As the claimant, you must establish three requirements in order to prove negligence:

• the defendant owed you a duty of care
• the defendant was in breach of that duty
• that breach of duty caused the damage/injury

If you wish to make a motor claim it is necessary to prove that the council is at fault for your loss.

Events often occur that are unfortunate but not due to any party's negligence. As such, there is no automatic entitlement to compensation or any guarantee that making a claim against the council will result in the claim being successful.

The onus is on you as the claimant to prove your claim, which includes providing full details of the incident including accurate dates, locations, details of the incident and any relevant witness statements to enable us to investigate the claim properly.

You also have a duty to take all reasonable steps to minimise the value and extent of any loss. Do not dispose or transfer ownership of any damaged property without the prior agreement of the council, as this may affect your claim.

How to make a claim

There are two ways in which you can make a claim.

One option is to claim through your own insurer (if applicable) and the other option is to claim directly against the council. Both of these options are explained below.

You should read both options carefully and decide which is best for you.

Claiming through your own insurer

If you make a claim through your own insurer, your insurer will most likely cover your loss on a 'new for old’ basis and then seek to recover the costs from the council.

If the council is proven to have been legally liable for your loss then your insurer should recover both their costs and any excess payment you have made to them.

Your premium payments should not be affected if your insurer makes a full recovery of their costs, however, you may wish to discuss this with your insurer.

Claiming directly against the council

If you wish to make a claim for compensation directly against the council, you can complete our claim form below.

There are some important points to note if you wish to make a claim directly against the council:

1. We will acknowledge your claim within one working day from the day it is logged on our system and then begin our investigation.
2. Once we have acknowledged your claim an officer will be appointed to investigate your claim. The period of investigation will depend on the type of claim. Please see the table below for the anticipated maximum period of investigation for each type of claim. However, we endeavour to make a decision on liability as soon as possible.
    

   Type of claim	Investigation period
   Public liability	40 working days
   Motor	30 working days
   Employers’ liability	30 working days

3. If the council is found to be legally liable for your loss, the council's liability is limited to the value of the loss immediately prior to your incident. In other words, any payments made will not be on a 'new for old’ basis, as would likely be the case through your own insurer. If the claim relates to personal injury, you may be required to disclose medical evidence or attend a medical appointment(s). 
4. If you claim benefits, any payment made to settle your claim might affect benefits payments and any settlement that is paid to you must be declared.
5. The council may explore an option to use the payment of a claim to recover any current debt that you may owe the council (such as any council tax arrears).
6. Fraudulent claims will be prosecuted and could result in imprisonment.

Make a claim

Fraud prevention and detection

Kingston Council takes fraud very seriously. If a claim is found to have been misrepresented, falsified or exaggerated, we will take all available actions to ensure justice is taken to protect the public purse.

In order to prevent and detect fraud, we may share information at any time with other organisations and public bodies. This includes but not limited to other local authorities and the police.

Call 020 8770 5353 to report insurance fraud to Sutton Council's insurance service. This can be in confidence and anonymously, if necessary.

Data protection

For more information on how we use personal information, see our privacy policy.

Repairing damaged property

As the owner of the damaged property, you are entitled to repair the damage before a liability decision has been reached.

Any repairs carried out should be under the assumption that the council will not be reimbursing you for these costs, as liability will not yet have been decided. If liability is then admitted, we will require images of the damage and you will still need to obtain at least two repair estimates before commencing the work.

Alternatively, you may wish to speak with your own insurers or seek legal advice regarding the options that they can provide.

We will require you to provide at least two like-for-like repair estimates. These estimates will be reviewed to ensure they are reasonable and proportionate to the loss.

We would like to point out that the council do not cover betterment and may minus a percentage of the cost of wear and tear.

We would like to remind you that you are under a duty to mitigate your loss, we kindly request that you carefully consider the above options when making a claim against the council.

Limitation Act 1980

Under the Limitation Act 1980, there is a timescale within which a liability claim must be made:

• the time limit for property damage claims is currently 6 years from the date of the incident or knowledge of the damage (if later) 
• the time limit for personal injury claims is currently 3 years from the date of the incident or knowledge of the injury (if later)

If we are unable to agree settlement within this period, you must issue proceedings before this period has expired and serve the court proceedings against the council. Read a full copy of the Limitation Act 1980.

Help and advice

A liability claim is a legal claim and can be very complicated.

You may wish to seek independent legal advice either before you make a claim or if you disagree with any decision reached.

Before appointing a solicitor we advise you check how much any legal service will cost and how they will be funded.

Alternatively, your local Citizens Advice Bureau can give guidance on making a claim.

Please note that Liability decisions cannot be referred to the Ombudsman.

Feedback

We are committed to improving the way we work and we welcome your comments on your experience of our service.

If you would like to provide feedback, you can do so by completing our online survey. This survey is only for your experience of our service and not decisions on liability.

Complaints

If you feel that this service hasn’t been properly delivered, you can make an official complaint.

Your complaint should be about something that has happened in the last 12 months.

For further information on our complaints process visit our complaints and feedback page.