Shower leak - Insurance Will Not Cover

heavenlyharry

Hi there

We have had a leak in our shower which has caused some ceiling to come down in the kitchen below after my husband saw a wet spot and pushed it with his finger.

After having a assessor round it has been discovered that it is from poor sealent around the shower corner, which the insurance will not cover as its a maintence issue.

We understand that this is in the terms and conditions of the policy, but what we are frustrated about is the fact that the placement of the shower means that the leak has been soaking into the joists and only recently became so bad it showed on the ceiling below. Up until then, we had no idea that the shower has leaking.

We have had a structual engineer round and he has confimed that the joists are unsafe and need replacing. In his letter he has also stated that due to the placement of the shower there would have been no way for us to have known the shower was leaking and in his experience this would be classed as an escape of water and be covered by most insurance companies.

We have complained to the insurance company who have upheld their decision and we are now taking it to the ombudsman.

The insurance company have agreed to pay for the damage to the kitchen ceiling a they say my husband putting his finger through was an accident, but not the joists as they are part of the bathroom floor.

Do we stand anywhere with the ombudsman or fighting a loosing battle??



We are getting quotes for the kitchen ceiling. One building said that to do it properly the whole ceiling should be re-plastered and re-painted, and possibly a re-paint of the kitchen. The kitchen is large and on the phone the insurance company said if they feel the quotes art too higjh they will send out their own assessor to quote. But obviously we want it done properly and not just a patch job done. (although nothing can be done until the shower has been taken out and the floor/joists repaired and now we are waiting for the ombudsman!!)

Any advice would be gratefully received and I hope some of what Ive written makes sense!!


For anyone that was interested The Ombudsman have found in our favour!! The insurance have to cover the water damage

mildred1978

We inherited a shower with the same issue when we bought this house. However, you've been negligent in not checking and maintaining the sealant.

When did you last replace it?

DisneyTheresa

Who is the insurer involved?

Usually in these cases the resulting water damage is covered, can you check your policy wording? Escape of water is usually covered,unless they are trying to wriggle out of it by saying it is gradual escape of water. Under what grounds are they refusing to pay?

I've worked in insurance for many years and don't understand why they are refusing to pay

cyclonebri1

DisneyTheresa wrote: »

Who is the insurer involved?

Usually in these cases the resulting water damage is covered, can you check your policy wording? Escape of water is usually covered,unless they are trying to wriggle out of it by saying it is gradual escape of water. Under what grounds are they refusing to pay?

I've worked in insurance for many years and don't understand why they are refusing to pay

I too have a real issue here, you pay insurance for water damage, can't figure where it would state you need a degree in aquatic maintenance for that to be substantiated.

Biggest issue is you chose the wrong insurer, sorry:o:o;)

keystone

I would have thought that the insurance should pay out for the results of the leak which includes the timbers as well as the ceiling but not the cause of the leak.

You really do need, as already advised, to check your policy document wording carefully before anything else.

Cheers

heavenlyharry

Thank you so much for the replies.

The shower/bathroom was fitted approximately 4.5 years ago.
We did not think to check/re-seal the shower as there was no sign of damage to the sealant.

The insurance company is Allianz, (although we took the insurance out through The AA)

Part of the letter reads

"upon inspection we noted damage to the kitchen ceiling as a result of water escaping from the bathroom above. Inspection of the bathroom revealed that water appears to be escaping due to failed seals around the shower tray. Loss or damage arising from gradually operating causes, including deterioration and wear and tear is excluded under the terms of the policy. As such there is no cover under the policy and the claim in declined"

"the actual cause of the loss is as a result of "gradually operating causes"."

Thank you

keystone

That may well be what the letter says but what does the policy say.

Oh and the letter is wriggling. Its a failure of the sealant not an operating issue. BS!

Cheers

heavenlyharry

I cant actual find that part in the documents I have at home so we have requested a copy of all the policy documents today when we spoke to them again.

heavenlyharry

Part of the policy document states

　

General Exclusions that apply to the above policy:-

(1) Loss or damage arising from gradually operating causes including deterioration, wear and tear, corrosion, rot or similar causes.

keystone

Mmmm - literally that means they could argue that they never pay out for anything whatsoever. Time to escalate me thinks.

Cheers

cyclonebri1

keystone wrote: »

Mmmm - literally that means they could argue that they never pay out for anything whatsoever. Time to escalate me thinks.

Cheers

Yes I agree, the issue I would have is that if you acted the 1st time you became aware of the issue, ie the time it came through the ceiling, you were in no way negligent.
But, I'm not "legal".

However If I were in your shoes, I would be using the family legal protection service that I and lots of folks have running parallel with their home insurance.

Might get complicated in this case tho' due to clashing interests :rotfl:

Maybe a repost in a more correct legal section of the forum would be best 1st move?;)