Broken drain pipe, Insurance claim

marksoton

martinsurrey wrote: »

un fortunately I believe the utility fella is correct.

http://www.ccwater.org.uk/waterissues/currentkeywaterissues/privatesewersandlateraldrains/

for the purposes of drains, a block of flats is considered one connection, so all drains coming from a single block are the responsibility of the freeholders until they join with another source of drainage, or pass the boundary of the property.

I tend to agree unfortunately.

It's a bone of contention. Certainly in London.

TranceNRG

Hi ladies/gents,
Thanks for your input so far, it's been very helpful.

I received the report (seems very technical and didn't understand a lot of it) and quotation from Dyno Rod yesterday. It's a lot more than I had anticipated plus it's highlighted issues in the section between the man manhole and 1st floor flat's waste pipe I think. I just had a new sandstone patio installed and this section is under that. I'm a bit stressed that the issues near the main manhole needs to be fixed by digging up and they'll have to break the new patio.


On the insurance policy under what is covered it says:

the cost of repairing accidental damage to
domestic oil pipes
underground water-supply pipes
underground sewers, drains and septic tanks
underground gas pipes
underground cables
which you are legally responsible for

And under what is not covered it says:

We will not pay
a)for damage due to wear and tear or any gradually operating cause
b)the first £100 for every claim
c)for loss or damage to any part of the cables or service pipes within the buildings

Is this issue likely to be covered by insurance?

If I make a claim and if it's not covered, will it still affect our premium in the future (if they have to spend time to investigate the problem)?

Since the problem has been happening for a while, will the insurer not cover it based on the fact that this was an existing issue at the time insurance policy was taken? My broker went with a different insurance company this year (August).

The previous owners of my flat and 1st floor flat (both have new owners now) likely knew about the issue (probably not the extent of the damage) so if the repairs aren't covered by insurance, is there any chance we could recover money from them? Both of them live overseas!

I'll attached the scanned pictures of the report/quote in a bit. I would really appreciate if anyone knowledgeable could have a look and explain the extent of the damage in layman's terms and recommend a course of action.

Thanks.

eddddy

TranceNRG wrote: »

The previous owners of my flat and 1st floor flat (both have new owners now) likely knew about the issue (probably not the extent of the damage) so if the repairs aren't covered by insurance, is there any chance we could recover money from them? Both of them live overseas!

If the previous owner said something misleading in response to pre-contract enquires via your solicitor, then you could pursue them.

e.g. If they said they weren't aware of any issues with the drain, and you have strong evidence that they were aware.

TranceNRG wrote: »

It's a lot more than I had anticipated...

As I said previously... Dyno-rod... Insurance claim... Maybe get some second opinions.

TranceNRG

Here's the quote and drain report in picture format:

http://imgur.com/a/Ula6I

layout of the garden

http://imgur.com/a/j1UdJ

Thanks.

TranceNRG

eddddy wrote: »

If the previous owner said something misleading in response to pre-contract enquires via your solicitor, then you could pursue them.

e.g. If they said they weren't aware of any issues with the drain, and you have strong evidence that they were aware.



As I said previously... Dyno-rod... Insurance claim... Maybe get some second opinions.

I have been looking at companies that can fix drainage issues. Problem is I don't trust a lot of the people in building industry and don't know if they are decent or not. I have asked a few people in the office and they don't know anyone that they can recommend.
I'll find a couple of companies, send them the report from Dyno rod and ask for quotes.

I'll also contact Insurer's loss adjuster, forward them the report and ask for their advice.

G_M

Your insurance policy covers 'accidental damage to .....'
It does not cover 'wear and tear or any gradually operating cause'.

For insurance purposes, the key sentence in your report is "In our opinion the damage has been caused by ground movement."

I'm no insurance expert, but I'd guess this is accidental damage. However you might want to post over on the insurance board here and ask there.

martinsurrey

TranceNRG wrote: »

Here's the quote and drain report in picture format:

http://imgur.com/a/Ula6I

layout of the garden

http://imgur.com/a/j1UdJ

Thanks.

"in our opinion the damage has been caused by ground movement"

you need to check your insurance policy.

marksoton

martinsurrey wrote: »

"in our opinion the damage has been caused by ground movement"

you need to check your insurance policy.

I'd like to know how they came to that conclusion. Especially if it's London clay conditions.

eddddy

Read your policy through carefully.

For example, you may find that...

- Accidental damage means damage caused suddenly and unexpectedly (not gradual deterioration etc)

- Your drains are not blocked (they simply require maintenance)

- Subsidence cover relates to damage to buildings only (not damage to drains)

- Cover for damage cause by leaks relates to the buildings only (not the garden)


It might also be worth reading this to get a feel for the way some insurance companies fight drain claims (I realise your drains are not made from pitch-fibre, but the arguments about 'Accidental damage', 'gradual deterioration' etc probably apply.)

See: http://www.financial-ombudsman.org.uk/publications/technical_notes/pitch-fibre-pipes.html

TranceNRG

I filled out a claims form and sent it to the loss adjuster (spoke to him last week) along with the Dyno rod survey report and quote.

Could you guys please shed some light on these queries:

If I make a claim and if it's not covered, will it still affect our premium in the future (if they have to spend time to investigate the problem)?

Since the problem has been happening for a while, will the insurer not cover it based on the fact that this was an existing issue at the time insurance policy was taken? My broker went with a different insurance company this year (August).