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UK: We didn’t start the fire: Motor insurer not liable for property damage caused by car repair fire on private premisess

JAMIE ROGERS | April 8, 2019 | 139 views

In R&S Pilling t/a Phoenix Engineering v UK Insurance Limited [2019] UKSC 16, the Supreme Court addressed the question of whether or not a motor insurer should be liable for property damage caused by a fire which was started whilst a vehicle insured by it was being repaired on private land.
The Facts
Mr Holden, a mechanic employed by Phoenix Engineering, was working overtime and asked to use the loading bay at the premises to do some work on his car. Whilst welding some plates onto the underside of the car, a fire started and spread inside the car, then to some rubber mats lying close to the car. The fire then spread to Phoenix’s premises and the adjoining building.

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