Home Insurance: Does "buildings" include underground water supply pipe and drains

Annemos

Good evening. I find some policies very hard to decifer. "Loss or Damage to your Buildings" What does BUILDINGS include? 

Take this certain policy I will call   Policy 1    Definitions: 

Buildings Your home or your new home, and its permanent fixtures and fittings, boundary and garden walls, gates, hedges, fences, paths, terraces, drives, patios, permanently-built swimming or ornamental pools and their covers, tennis courts, cables, underground pipes and inspection covers, septic tanks and central-heating gas or oil tanks all forming part of the property for which you are legally responsible. These must all be at the address shown in your Schedule.

Fixtures and fittings Built-in furniture, built-in kitchen appliances, fixed glass and sanitary ware, solar panels, pipes, ducts, wires, cables, switches, fires, boilers, radiators, storage heaters, fixed wall, floor and ceiling coverings other than carpets

.......So I think this policy does take the clear position that your Buildings does include your underground pipes and drains (such as the water supply pipe outside your home). Is that correct? 
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But how about this policy!?  Policy 2    Definitions: 

Buildings The property, domestic fixed fuel oil tanks, drives, patios and terraces, walls, gates and fences, swimming pools, tennis courts and including fixtures and fittings owned by you, or for which you are legally responsible, all being situated at the address(es) in the territorial limits    (Territorial limits: United Kingdom (i.e. Great Britain, Northern Ireland, the Channel Islands, the Isle of Man).)

However, Fixtures and Fittings is NOT defined anywhere!

........Does this policy take any position  at all that the Buildings does indeed include underground pipes and drains (e.g. your water supply pipe outside your home)? 
Are they considered part of the Fixtures and Fittings (for which you are legally responsble)? Or is this policy excluding them? 

Side note: why can't insurance policies be written in clear and plain English for us consumers?? Or is it just me that has these problems? 

Annemos

Additional bit of the policy for Policy 2: 
Section 1: Buildings The buildings are insured against loss or damage by the following causes up to the sum insured shown in the schedule

3. Escape of water or oil from any fixed water or heating installation, apparatus and pipes.
Excluding a) loss or damage whilst your home is unoccupied b) loss or damage to the apparatus and/or pipes from which water and/or oil has escaped c) loss or damage caused by gradual emission d) subsidence, heave or landslip damage caused by escaping water or oil e) £250 excess

TELLIT01

Most 'basic' policies don't include drains, incoming mains supplies and similar.  Cover for those can generally be added as an extra.  Certainly don't assume that because they aren't specifically excluded they will be included.

Annemos

Thanks. This is where I get confused.... I think because I read things literally. 

So that Policy 2 says this....
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Section 1: Buildings The buildings are insured against loss or damage by the following causes up to the sum insured shown in the schedule (a list follows).......

11. Accidental damage to fixed glass, sanitary fixtures and ceramic hobs forming part of the Property. Excluding a) loss or damage whilst the buildings are unoccupied b) loss or damage caused by chipping, denting or scratching

12. Accidental damage to underground pipes, tanks, cables and services for which You are responsible. Excluding a) loss or damage due to wear and tear or gradual deterioration b) loss or damage caused by faulty materials, design, workmanship or as a result of any alterations, renovations or repairs.
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.............When I read this,  I read it literally as saying that only the damage to buildings CAUSED by the accidental damage to the underground pipes is covered, rather than damage to those pipes themselves. 

But that would not make sense for the damage to the glass and hobs in 11. 

So should I be reading those Accidental 11 and 12 parts slightly differently? Are they meaning that it is the actual accidental damage to those items themselves in 11 and 12 (like the underground pipes) that is covered? So the actual repair to the Underground pipe would be covered? (As long as it is not gradual, due to wear and tear etc) 

I hope I have explained that properly. It is this type of thing that often means I do not really understand what I am covererd for!

Sandtree

It may be easier if you include a link to the relevant document as capitalisation/bold etc are important to determine if words are their common english meaning or a defined term in the policy.

It may be easier to answer explicit questions rather than a more nebulous question

Annemos

Yes Sandtree. Here it is: 
Does this policy cover me for Track and Trace of where a leak is on my water supply pipe? 
Does it cover the repair of that water supply pipe? 
Does it cover the making good of any works done to fix the leak...such as paths and patios? 

Many thanks. 

Sandtree

So to answer in random order....

For Accident Damage it clearly states you have cover and that would be for the damage to the pipe and the resultant damage if you somehow managed to drill down into it or such.

For Escape of Water I dont think it is abundantly clear and if its really important to you then double check with your insurers. I would certainly argue that YOUR mains supply as it attaches to your property and is legally yours from the point of the street stopcock would fall within the definition of a fixture as its at least in part fixed to the building. You would certainly be on weaker grounds for any other pipes that happen to cross under your property but are not your pipes.

The policy wording is a bit odd in presentation but seems to suggest T&A is always included if you have buildings so in the event of an EoW claim they would trace the leak, you would have to get the leak fixed and assuming its not an gradual/ongoing type issue then they will make good the damage and the access.

Note that the policy does not include matching sets so if the issue is in a room thats fully tiled for example they only have to pay for the tiles damaged (by the water or access) and not all the rest of the tiles... so if those tiles are no longer made etc thats your problem. 

Weighty1

Annemos said:

Yes Sandtree. Here it is: 
Does this policy cover me for Track and Trace of where a leak is on my water supply pipe? 
Does it cover the repair of that water supply pipe? 
Does it cover the making good of any works done to fix the leak...such as paths and patios? 

Many thanks. 

Pg 11, bullet point 15.  £5,000 of trace and access cover is provided.  Your 3 question is the same as trace and access is designed to cover the damage to source the leak and your actual buildings insurance would cover the cost of rectifying the damage.

Question 2, not had time to look, sorry.

Annemos

Thank you both. It is all very hideous indeed. I am still in the middle of a tree root subsidence claim of over 2 years! Now the water pipe has gone somewhere. It is not on the meter, so the local Authority are not responsible for it. Therefore, it is now with the insurance company for their review. 

Sandtree, this is all part of that issue about staying with the same insurer once you have had Subsidence. You have followed my old posts. I fought so hard to keep it. I had no idea this latest issue was going to suddenly come and hit me when the water meter was read. But I am so glad I am still with the same insurance company, now. 

It is not yet clear where the leak is or what  exactly has caused it, so I don't know what part of the insurance policies (old or new) will be looked at. Luckily the Claims Company is also the same for both policies.

T and A is being done this Friday. I cannot see any water either! 

Many thanks again for your input everyone. (I am off to have a large sherry??)