Couple sue insurer after £2m home is destroyed in fire

Times

2 days ago

A couple whose £2 million house and £300,000 watch collection were destroyed in a blaze have launched a court battle after insurers refused to pay out.
The London home of Charles and Biborka Bellhouse was severely damaged when a massive fire broke out three years ago while they were extending the property.
According to Mrs Bellhouse, 42, a wedding makeup artist, and her husband, a property investor, the pair suffered psychological harm that required therapy after their insurers refused to cover the cost of repairs.
They have told a High Court judge that although officials at the insurance company, Zurich, paid out £155,000 for temporary accommodation and for scaffolding to make their four-bedroom detached house safe, it had baulked at funding rebuilding costs.
The Bellhouses' home before the fire
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It is estimated that the rebuilding bill totals about £600,000. Replacing the damaged contents, including a £300,000 collection of Rolex and other valuable watches, is set to run to £475,000.
Lawyers for Zurich have told the court that the couple breached the terms of the insurance cover by having an extension built without informing the company, which invalidated the policy.
Bellhouse, 46, and his wife are now suing the insurance company. Their barrister, Mek Mesfin, has told the court that it took 60 firefighters to extinguish the fire.
The couple submitted a claim on their insurance policy and Zurich paid them about £16,000 towards scaffolding to make the property safe, and about £140,000 for alternative accommodation and furniture.
However, it has refused to pay out on claims to rebuild the house and for the valuable contents, including two watches that were individually insured for £40,000 and £187,000. There is also a claim for £75,000 for three other watches.
Only one of the watches was in the house at the time of the fire, but the court was told that boxes and authenticity certificates for the others were inside. The value of those watches would be significantly affected if that paperwork had been destroyed, Mesfin told the court, adding that because the property was unsafe, it had been impossible so far to determine whether the documents had survived.
Mesfin argued that that Zurich had 'wrongfully and in breach of the terms of the policy' refused to accept liability for the repairs and the contents.
The couple are also claiming medical expenses of about £8,000 from Zurich, saying that they have suffered psychological harm and needed therapy as a result of Zurich's failure to pay out.
Lawyers for the insurance company have told the court that Zurich is not obliged to make more pay-outs. They argued that the company had 'avoided liability' because of a 'misrepresentation' in which the couple had said that they did not plan to do any significant work on their home within the year after taking out the insurance policy.
Zurich has said that it would not have insured the Bellhouses' property if it had known about the planned extension and renovation. Daniel Crowley, a barrister representing the company, told a pre-trial hearing that as well as denying liability to make further payments, Zurich was counterclaiming in an effort to force the couple to pay back the £169,507 they had received.
The case will return to court for a full trial unless it settles.