buildings insurance

frankie1star

could anyone explain to me what 'escape of water' means on my buildings insurance? please excuse my ignorance

somalt

Basically, it means leaked. So you have cover for damage caused by water leaking from pipes etc.

frankie1star

does that only cover the house, or possibly outside?

rs65

Possibly. Might be easier just to say what the problem is and someone could tell you if its likely to be covered.

*Scarlett

You would normally be covered for damage caused to the buildings for escape of water - burst pipe, water leak, etc - inside or ouside of the building.

You will probably not be covered for the repair of failed pipework (although some policies do include cover for accidental damage to underground pipes).

If you have a home emergency or utilities cover, either with your home insurance or separately, it may cover this.

Check your policy docs to see what you are covered for and be aware that many polices carry a higher excess for escape of water claims.

frankie1star

the problem is a very soggy wet patch in the corner of my garden, that appears to becoming from my neighbour. It seems to be when they shower/bath, but I wanted to know whether, the blockage is likely to be something that will be my responsibility

hugoshavez

Very few insurers cover simple blockages (esure are one who do, I believe) but most will pay if the drain itself has been damaged by tree roots. Are there trees nearby?

As to liability, this is generally poorly understood, even by insurers' own staff. But basically costs should be split between all households served by the drain.

If the water's coming out near to an inspection chamber (you'll see a manhole) then it might be possible to rod it. Otherwise you're probably looking at a camera survey, which should be in the region of £120+VAT.

Who's your insurer?

TSx

hugoshavez wrote: »

Very few insurers cover simple blockages (esure are one who do, I believe) but most will pay if the drain itself has been damaged by tree roots. Are there trees nearby?

As to liability, this is generally poorly understood, even by insurers' own staff. But basically costs should be split between all households served by the drain.

If the water's coming out near to an inspection chamber (you'll see a manhole) then it might be possible to rod it. Otherwise you're probably looking at a camera survey, which should be in the region of £120+VAT.

Who's your insurer?

This changed in October last year, householders are now only responsible for their section of the drain - there is no 'shared' drainage any more (except in a few specific cases such as blocks of flats). That's assuming that this is a problem with the drains and not with the mains water pipe.

The water company will usually come out for free to give you an idea of where and what the problem is, if it's part of the shared drainage, they will fix it, if it's part of your drainage, then you can contact your own insurer...

hugoshavez

TSx wrote: »

This changed in October last year, householders are now only responsible for their section of the drain - there is no 'shared' drainage any more (except in a few specific cases such as blocks of flats). That's assuming that this is a problem with the drains and not with the mains water pipe.

The water company will usually come out for free to give you an idea of where and what the problem is, if it's part of the shared drainage, they will fix it, if it's part of your drainage, then you can contact your own insurer...

Happy to be corrected, heard about this coming up, but haven't encountered an instance so slipped my mind.

frankie1star

there is no inspection chamber either side of our gardens and that has been the perplexing thing, I only noticed the pool of water filling up when cutting the grass, so popped round to see him but he was in the shower, so I put two and two together. And it smelt like bath water, although it stagnates and isnt too pleasant once its done that. Sometime ago before I discovered where the problem lay, I asked Anglian Water to attend, they confirmed it wasnt mains water.

inoutnotsure

Escape of water is in effect, water that has escape from an item/area that contains the water e.g. pipes, drains, baths, washing machines etc.

If you supect it is drains related, you could ask the insurers to 'initiate' a trace and access so that they get someone to investigate the problem. This could include cameras along drains, digging up the area in question, test the water samples to see if it is foul water or natural water etc.