Our insurers are refusing to pay for damaged drains

kvmtcm

Several days ago our neighbour had sewage from the drains entering his house His insurers called out UKDN a drainage company. They have carried out extensive surveys with CCTV and say his tree roots have grown into his drains causing a blockage. We are further up the hill and our house is unnafected. However the drain is apparently shared between the two houses so we are liable for 50% of the repair costs which could be thosands of pounds. His insurers will cover him but our insurers (a large very well known company which advertises extensively on TV but I will hold off mentioning pending our appeal etc.) are refusing to cover us saying they do not cover drains on their standard buildings cover only under accidental damage . They refuse to get involved and won't even discuss the claim or what we should do about it. Our neighbour says his policy wording is the same as ours and he had no problem with his insurers. Someone from the drainage company said they had never heard of an insurer refusing to cover drains as they are part of the buildings. I have since been told that my insurers are the only ones in the UK who do this and they only started this a couple of years ago to save themselves money . The policy I believe indicates to any lay person that drains would be covered and only a very careful analysis of the word order may suggest otherwise. (they are actually saying water escaping from the drains is covered but drains aren't covered even though they accept that drains are part of the buildings! ) . Has anyone else ever come across this or have any advice for us. Thanks

FlameCloud

You need to look at what perils are covered under your policy - these are things like Storm, fire, theft etc (they will be listed in your booklet). AD to drains is normally covered under a seperate section and you appear to have bought a policy where this seperate section is an optional extra. If this is the case then there is very little you can do about it.

dacouch

Which Insurer is it?

huckster

Think it is Direct Line that do this. Repair of sewer is under AD.

Aviva for example cover as standard.

The OP should check the situation about what they have responsibilty for, as the damaged drain appears to be on the neighbours land, caused by the neighbours trees. While you could be technically liable if the drain is shared in going to the public sewer, not sure whether this is affected by any liability regarding the tree roots.

FlameCloud

Alot of policies cover it under AD, but the difference with some is that it is not included as standard (i.e. alongside free AD to sanitaryware and glass).

The op could be responsible for it even it is in not on her land and wasnt her fault- if her home is served by the drain (i.e. she is upstream of it) then they will be liable for a proportional cost of repairing it.

kvmtcm

Thanks.
My issue is really with the insurance company who sold the buildings and contents policy. They may or may not have asked if we wanted accidental damage cover but I have always thought this was cover for accidental damage (call me naive). As the surveyor said you can choose to live with the risk of spilling paint but not if your sewers fail . This is an enviromental health hazard and if not repaired immediately the council will serve an enforcement notice on you. Most people won't be able to afford it (the last one he did cost £55,000.00) and our shared run goes 40 metres under trees and drives. This is why I'm feeling so bad (we're still waiting for the quote)
Our policy includes " water or oil escaping from any fixed water or heating installation, including underground drains and pipes ..." and the definition of buildings in our buildings cover includes "... service tanks, drains, septic tanks, pipes cables ..."
I think you'd have to be a lawyer to realise this wouldn't cover drains. I'm thinking of taking them to the ombudsman or even to court and would love to know what anyone thinks the chances might be.
Thanks for listening it helps to get this off my chest too.

huckster

If you took Direct Line to the FOS or to Court, they will point out that when you discussed the Insurance contract, it would not have been possible to go through every aspect of cover*. Instead what happens is that the full policy details are posted to you and you are asked to review the policy to make sure it suits your requirements. You have the cooling off period to cancel, if it is not suitable.

The Direct Line cover for repair to sewers is only for up to £1000. So it could be that even if you had paid the extra premium, the cover would not have been adequate.

Going to the FOS could take a long time. Some cases take 2 years. The Courts will almost certainly rule in Direct Lines favour, *unless during your phone call you specifically asked about the cover to drains/sewers and were given the wrong information.

Your best bet would be to go to the press, after giving Direct Line the opportunity to resolve. Your argument would be a long the lines of what you have said. That Direct Line in having the sewer cover under Accidental Damage, should be required to make specific mention of this, when explaining the cover to prospective policyholders. It is important information for people to be aware of this, given the cost of repairs.

I don't know the full details of the property risk that you are looking to cover, but by the sounds of it, the Direct Line policy is not suitable for some of your requirements. The policy is really for bog standard type properties. Therefore I really recommend that you fully look at your requirements and perhaps contact a good local broker (not Swintons) to obtain the best affordable cover you can.

kvmtcm

Thank you huckster (and everyone who replied) . I think your advice is probably spot on, I'll take this as far as I can with the ombudsman and contact the press if nothing else just to warn others. Our house is not unusual or especially large so this could affect just about anyone to some extent.

You sum up my feelings exactly, the insurer should be required to proactively notify the customer if a major risk like this isn't covered.

Again thanks for your comments it's helped me to see where I stand and decide how to handle this.

PS its not Direct Line but another well known insurer

huckster

kvmtcm wrote: »

PS its not Direct Line but another well known insurer

Do their adverts contain a nodding dog?

If so, they are part of the same group.