Rotten Floorboards - Home Insurance

chezmoi

Hello. I have been in house ten years and have discovred rotten floorboards possibly caused by water escaping from a drain or pipe underneath the house. Is there a home insurance claim?

forgotmyname

Is this a recent issue? Have you had the drain or pipe repaired?

chezmoi

No repairs to pipe; it was a sudden discovery of the floorboards which we suspect arises from an underground drain

huckster

You are going to need to find out what the problem is yourself and what the extent of the damage is. Then speak to your Insurers about it.

Without knowing what has happened, it is difficult to answer whether you can claim or not. Sometimes damage that has occured over a long period of time, caused by water backing up from underneath the house, may be seen as a maintenance issue for you to deal with.

Have you checked your policy wording to see if you have trace and access cover to find out the cause of a water leak ?

chezmoi

Yes. We are sure it is from a pipe forgotten about when the two houses were formed into one many years ago before we moved there.

huckster

chezmoi wrote: »

Yes. We are sure it is from a pipe forgotten about when the two houses were formed into one many years ago before we moved there.

You will have to speak to your Insurers about the scope of the cover you have to deal with the situation.

If you don't know the cause, you need to find out. Hence mentioning whether you have trace and access cover on your Buildings Insurance. If you have this cover, Insurers may cover the cost of finding the cause of the water leak.

Nb. If there is a chance that your neighbour may have a similar problem they don't know about, you should mention it. Water may have also leaked into their side.

David_InsDef

You should check to see if you have trace and access cover within your home insurance policy as this would cover the cost of finding the source of the leak.

zaax

how do you know its a leaking pipe, is your water bill high?