Property fire leads to claims against Zurich and Amlin
Zurich is being sued for £1.3m by property company Morant Investments in a breach of contract row.
The dispute relates to a fire in May 2003 at Morant's property at 58 Commercial Street, London. The property was insured by Zurich.
In its High Court claim, Morant said that, following the fire, it had suffered losses totalling £1.2m, plus loss of rent totalling £150,000.
Morant said: "The defendant [Zurich] is liable to indemnify Morant in respect of the said loss pursuant to the terms of the property policy but, in breach of contract, has failed to do so."
A Zurich statement said: "We can confirm that we are in the process of investigating a claim by Morant Investments in connection with a fire at its premises on 26 May, 2003. However it would be inappropriate for us to comment any further at this stage."
In the same claim, the building's occupant, sportswear retailer Supersport, is suing Lloyd's insurer Amlin for £300,000.
Amlin insured Supersport against various risks associated with the storage of its stock.
Supersport said it suffered losses totalling £300,000 as a result of the fire but that Amlin had, in breach of contract, failed to pay out on the claim.
Amlin declined to comment on the case.
Morant and Supersport are claiming a total of £1,650,000 plus interest on the sum at a rate of 8% amounting to £69,073.
In the claim Morant and Supersport stated that "on or about 26 May, 2003, the property and the sports clothing and footwear stored therein was substantially damaged by fire and further wet damaged by the actions of the fire brigade in putting out the fire".
Supersport is involved in the wholesale and retail of sports clothing and footwear. The company used the property at Commercial Street as a warehouse to store sportswear.
