Home Insurance- Leak

neasdendave

Hi,

Sorry if this is not the right place to ask (I'm new to the site) but...

Last week when I tried to switch on my central heating & it didn't work, then my hot water also decided to stop- I called a plumber out who tested the boiler and decided that there must be a leak as the pressure kept dropping rapidly when he topped it up. Problem is I've had wooden flooring put down recently so can't get under the floor to check the pipes. My question is: will my buildings insurance pay to fix the leak and more importantly do you think they will pay for any damage to the floor??? The plumber is pretty certain it's coming from the front room- but we won't know for sure unless the floor is taken up.
The insurer does mention cover for 'water escaping from any fixed water or heating installation.'

Thanks

FlameCloud

It will depend on whether you have trace and access cover if there is no current damage to the flooring from the water.

As for fixing the leak, almost certainly not.

neasdendave

Thanks. Do you know what the term 'water escaping from any fixed water or heating installation.' mean? Do you think this would be for major emergencies eg. water pipe bursting and flooding the house, etc, rather than a leak from a pipe?

Cheers

l0u1se

What that means is any leak escaping from anything fixed, whether it be a shower, sink, pipe etc. Doesn't matter how severe the leak is.

Mains water pipes are dealt with differently under insurance policies & fall under accidental damage to services.

Majority of insurance companies cover the water damage but not the trace & access of the leak or the repair to the pipe itself unless the damage is caused by freezing.

Who is your insurance provider?

neasdendave

Thanks. I'm with Churchill- I'm pretty sure trace and access is not covered, but I'm just concerned over damage to the floor. There's no real sign of water damage on top, but I'm sure with the amount of water leaking (I topped the pressure twice yesterday and the bar fell to 0 within three hrs on both occasions), the damage will be underneath. Do you think I will have a chance to claim for the floor, if all of it has to be removed (although only part may be damaged by the water)?

FlameCloud

Churchill policies include trace and access up to £5K off the top of my head. They would ordinarily cover the flooring up to a natural break point- for example a door bar or door.

It would depend on the type of floor you have- suspended or solid. If its suspended, and its a relativly old house then the water will probably just drip straight into the earth.

luci

It may have changed, but Churchill didn't cover Trace and Access when I checked last year if you went direct. However a policy with the Nationwide which was underwritten by Churchill did cover it.

neasdendave

Thanks to both of you. I've been told by a friend that if you can't actually see the leak, you can't claim if there is no trace and access cover. Although we definitely know the leak exists. All very annoying to be honest!! I'm going to give them a call later to see what can be done