Zurich Insurance ordered to pay Chiswick couple’s legal fees over house fire claim

Image: The fire at Park Road on 29 December 2022, Credit: Steve Nutt

The case over the insurance payout is ongoing

In a High Court ruling on Tuesday 24 June, Zurich Insurance PLC (Zurich) were told they must cover the full £87,000 of legal fees incurred in its case against Chiswick couple Charles and Biborka Bellhouse.

The Bellhouses took Zurich to court over its refusal to pay the couple’s insurance claim following a serious fire at their home at 135 Park Road on 29 December 2022.

Charles, 46, who works in property investment, and Biborka, 42, who is a wedding makeup artist, filed a claim for £600,000 of rebuilding costs and £475,000 of content cover, including £300,000 for their expensive watch collection.

The Bellhouses purchased Zurich’s “High Net Worth” package, designed for individuals with substantial assets, in May 2021.

Initially, Zurich were responsive and paid for £16,000 of safety scaffolding and £147,000 of alternative accommodation for the family. However, the insurer later said it would not pay the claim because the couple had not declared the extensive building work happening on the house when the fire broke out.

The couple’s lawyers maintain that the planned construction had been declared when taking out the insurance policy.

Image: Charles and Biborka Bellhouse, Credit: Facebook

Judge says Zurich’s case has ‘serious deficiencies’

At the trial’s preliminary hearing, his Honour Judge David Hodge identified there were “serious deficiencies” in Zurich’s counter claim against the Bellhouses, which the company failed to account for.

The judge ordered that given Zurich’s slow response and continual delays, the Bellhouses would be awarded full indemnity of the £87,290.40 of legal fees. He said:

“(Zurich) has necessitated a vast, and wholly unnecessary, expenditure of costs by private individuals, who have suffered substantial damage to their home, and are claiming for this on their insurance. It has put the timetable for this case back by almost a full year” and “diverted the parties’ focus away from the true issues in this case.”

If the dispute is not settled out of court, Zurich and the Bellhouses will return to court for a full trial over the insurance payout.