Water Pipe Damage - What should be covered ?

Ivenofinmoney

One of the Kids decided it would be funny to swing on the shower head this morning :mad: and Has bust a pipe !!

I contacted the insurance company as at 8:30 this morning I had water pouring through my kitchen down lighters, and a sea of buckets in the kitchen, amazingly because I have managed to isolate the feed without cutting of the whole water supply and we have another bathroom (en-suite) they wont come out for 48hours ?

However, now that the immediate dripping has stopped and I am assuming the electrics will survive, the visual damage in the kitchen is a just bit of re-plastering on the ceiling and one internal wall which has cracked and a need to re-decorate where the wallpaper in the lounge has gone brown.

My biggest concern is the shower itself, the pipes are in the wall behind the tiles so presumably this has all got to come off, will the repair to the pipes be covered (I have buildings & contents with accidental damage) and more importantly the work to repair the damage to get at the pipes ???

I had home insurance for nearly 10 years and never made a claim, so I don't want to take the Michael, but we only moved in a month ago and the additional bathroom was a big reason for moving, I will be gutted if we have to wait 12 months while we save up for a new bathroom.

Any advice on what I should expect from the insurance company on this would be appreciated.

ALSO: any other hidden damage I should look out for before finalising my claim ???

courtjester

In short, yes you're covered for all the damage, including the costs of repairing the plumbing and accessing the pipes and subsequent making good (under the Accidental damage extension of the policy).

Try and ventilate the areas /rooms affected as much as possible. If necessary remove some of the damaged wall covering to facilitate this - ideally you shoudl leave it as-is until the inspector has been so if you disturb anything make sure you have photographed the damage beforehand.

If you can, lift a floorboard or two in the bathroom.

Water damage can appear disastrous as it goes a long way, but building structures are remarkably resilient and most components dry out satisfactorily with good ventilation without long term problems.

The electrics should be OK providing they are not ancient, but it would be appropriate to have them checked once dry to be certain - the testing cost will go on the claim. You might as well see if you can get a quote for repairs whilst waiting for the insurance inspector, although your insurers may have their own people they will want to bring in.

Ivenofinmoney

Thanks courtjester.

I have spoken to the underwriter (LANDMARK) this afternoon, they have said I must pay for a plumber to come out and certify that the damage has been caused as I have suggested, and if so they would cover the cost of the repair to the pipe, but not the damage caused to gain access or the call out charge for the plumber to confirm that the damage was caused by accident.

To be honest that makes it cost prohibitive, I am fairly certain from what I can see down the dark hole it's a plastic joint pulled off it's thread if the only thing they will pay for is the charge for the plumber to screw a new plastic hose on I can make the repairs myself at considerably less than the excess charge on the policy, let alone the call out charge to prove if I'm lying or not!

FlameCloud

It depends on your policy. Just because you have AD does not mean you will be covered for trace and access, which your policy doesnt have if thats what they are saying.

It is up to YOU to PROVE there was accidental damage and not some mechanincal failure which wouldnt be covered. It has nothing to do whether you where lying.

courtjester

Iven

Sounds like your insurer is starting to wriggle before even understanding the problem.

If they accept that the incident is 'covered' as accidental damage under your relevant policy extension, then they can't say that the costs involved in reinstating that damage will not be dealt with.

It is a general condition that the expenses of 'proving' a claim are not claimable, but that really relates to somewhat more complex matters than a burst pipe. They may be considering that you could be lying and that this could simply be an ordinary leakage due to wear and tear (hence even the accidental damage cover would not apply).

I think you can easily demonstrate that this is damage to the plumbing by external accident (rather than old age) by photographs. As regards the plumber, it is ludicrous in my opinion to ask you to pay for a plumber to come and give you a 'report' without fixing the issue if its simple. They can comment on their invoice as to cause. Call out charges are simply part of the cost of repair, if the repair is undertaken during the call-out.

Many insurers have their own contractor network, so maybe you should ask Landmark to arrange for the repairs via their own people...

AND in order to fix the broken section, if other parts (tiling, plaster etc) need to be removed to gain access to repair, making good of those areas IS part of the cost of reinstatement of the damage so must be covered in addition. This is different from mere 'investigations to find the location of the problem' as these are a necessary part of the repair.

Sounds like you have been dealing with a 'call centre' operative rather than an expert at the insurance company, so you might want to ask to speak to a senior claims manager or better still, insist that what they are asking you to do is unreasonable and they should send out an inspector to view and agree on the damage, if they are concerned that you are not being honest.

Ivenofinmoney

Over 48 hours since I made the claim and I've had no official response to my claim (when I spoke to Landmark on Monday they had still not received details of my claim, their advice was in general).

I've given up on the idea of getting the insurance to pay for the repair to the shower, and started the work myself.

I've stripped the fittings off around the shower and can see the pipe that's hanging off.

Rather than smash the tiles off the wall to gain access, I'm going to cut a big hole in the wall in the bedroom behind the en-suite to gain access that way, It's annoying as I only re-decorated that room a fortnight ago, but re plastering & re-painting has got to be cheaper than re-tiling the bathroom.

Once I know where I stand with the claim on the rest of the water damage, I shall be cancelling and looking for insurance elsewhere - Emergency Home assistance cover that doesn't come out when you've got water pouring through your electric fittings and accidental damage cover that doesn't cover the cost of repairing accidental damage!

I shall also be checking my health insurance policy - I may be covered to have a heart replacement, but to follow this logic I'm not sure they would stitch me back together again once they've replaced it !!

Ivenofinmoney

This is fantastic, it's now been 5 days since I registered my claim and I have heard nothing, I called them up and after 20 minutes they found my records, I told them that I have now repaired the damage myself, and only wished to claim for the water damage, they have said I must have the repair inspected by a qualified plumber or they will not pay for the water damage.

There is no mention of such a clause in my policy, I have made the repair and repaired the damage I had to make to gain access, so in order to get the money for the flood damage I must cut another hole in the wall and pay someone to come and write a note to say I have screwed the pipe together properly.

Surely this is a load of b*l*cks!

courtjester

Suggest you advise them that you wish to escalate the claim to a formal complaint. They were given adequate notice to inspect which they failed to do. They also failed to provide the emergency assistance included in your policy.

Although I believe you have a rightful claim for the plumbing repair, they certainly can't expect you to get a plumbers opinion on how the water damage occurred, this would be obvious on inspection - they are just being lazy /trying to save money on sending out their own inspector.

Your policy will probably have a complaints procedure you need to follow going through the management levels first before ending up at the Ombudsman. Assuming this is a relatively small claim (to your insurers), it is unlikely they will continue to decline your case - it will cost them more in time spent dealing with your complaint.

So if you are prepared to put a bit of effort into correspondence, you may get this sorted.

Then change insurers.