@scotlandx said:
If the neighbour’s pipes leaked and destroyed the cupboard, then the neighbour is responsible.
Actually they usually aren’t.
In my many dealings with these types of matters and strata insurance claims, the neighbour has to be found legally liable for the leak for any claim against them to be successful. And that usually requires establishing negligence on their part.
With many plumbing issues, negligence is actually difficult or impossible to establish. Pipes spontaneously leak or burst. If someone eg damaged the pipes, they might the liable party but as we know in strata schemes, one lot’s pipes are often in another lot’s airspace (eg in garages), so it’s not always the owner of the pipes who might damage them.
But I agree, it’s best to let the insurance companies work it out.
It seems to me this would be a building insurance claim and that would be on the OC/BC’s compulsory building insurance (that covers fixtures, fittings and lot improvements) regardless of if they or the pipes are common property or not.
Insurance companies tend to know what an OC/BC’s compulsory building insurance actually covers. And in this case it seems they have concluded that the damaged cupboard is a building fixture, fitting or lot improvement covered by the OC/BC’s compulsory building insurance.