Shower leak - Insurance say they will not pay

Nharris44

Hi,
We have had a leak in from the shower. It only became apparent when the ceiling downstairs became discoloured overnight. The floor under the lino was all sodden and the flooring has softened to the point you can put your finger through it. It only leaks when the shower is running and when I put the hose directly into the waste it doesn't leak suggesting it is through the tiles or the seal. the Insurance company (Tesco) have said it is a maintenance issue and they will not pay out. When I asked them what the maintenance policy was for tiles (ie how often they should be replaced or regrouted) they couldn't advise. The only element on the policy which implies any non-payment is the statement "they won't cover fair wear and tear" which I understand. However, surely that means they don't have to cover anything! If my wall falls down they could just say "well, you should rebuild it every 2 years, that's just fair wear and tear"! 
Surely however, the water damage should be covered by the policy otherwise what's the point in having a policy? I can't see that I have to retile my bathroom every year in order to comply with my policy. I have asked them to escalate it to the ombudsman. 
I have seen a similar post but couldn't find the outcome, Any advice or suggestions would be welcome.

Thrugelmir

Is part of the shower unit enclosed behind the tiles? 

[Deleted User]

Nharris44 said:

I can't see that I have to retile my bathroom every year in order to comply with my policy.

You don't. But you do need to be aware of maintenance issues and have at least an occasional look for problems.  

People have the same complaint when they don't fix loose roof tiles and are then surprised when they're not covered for years of neglect.

As for your wall example - again, if you don't maintain it so that it's so weak it's liable to fall down, it wouldn't be covered.  But it will be covered for when a car goes through it, for example.

Aretnap

Nharris44 said:

When I asked them what the maintenance policy was for tiles (ie how often they should be replaced or regrouted) they couldn't advise. The only element on the policy which implies any non-payment is the statement "they won't cover fair wear and tear" which I understand. However, surely that means they don't have to cover anything! If my wall falls down they could just say "well, you should rebuild it every 2 years, that's just fair wear and tear"! 
Surely however, the water damage should be covered by the policy otherwise what's the point in having a policy? I can't see that I have to retile my bathroom every year in order to comply with my policy.

It's not a case of having to retile your bathroom every x months to comply with the policy; it's a case of whether the policy actually covers the cause of the damage.

Home insurance policies are usually written so as to list the things that they do cover, rather than the things that they don't. The policy documents will contain a list of "perils", to use the jargon - fire, flood, storm damage, subsidence etc - and if you want to make a claim you have to say which peril caused the damage that you are claiming for. So yes, your whole house could collapse around your ears, and if it wasn't caused by one of the insured perils your insurer could just shrug and leave you to it I'm afraid.

Assuming your policy documents look like the ones Tesco currently have online

https://www.tescobank.com/assets/home-insurance-policy-booklet-0520/home-insurance-policy-booklet-0520.pdf

the section most likely to cover it is "8. Water or oil escaping from any fixed domestic water or heating installation, including underground drains and pipes or from any domestic appliance" (page 15).

However note that there are a couple of exclusions which look relevant. It will not cover "damage caused by the failure or lack of grout and/or sealant in your home" - which you seem to be saying is how it happened. And also it will not cover "damage that happens gradually over a period of time" - so a burst water main that leaves your house knee deep in water will be covered, but not a slow leak which discolours your ceiling over a period of days or weeks. This might be what the person on the phone means when they say "it's a maintenance issue" - maybe not the best way to phrase it, but by the look of the policy documents I'm afraid it looks like they are on strong ground here.

greyteam1959

If the waste is not leaking it could very well be a crack in the shower tray.
If it a plastic shower tray then when you stand in the shower & run the water the crack will open up & the leak will occur.
If that is what is happening then that will be covered by your insurance I would have thought.

huckster

As Greetham suggests, you need to find out cause of water leak damage.  Was it a maintenance issue or not ?

With any claim, you have to find out what the issue is exactly.  Time to put weight on the shower tray and have someone with a torch looking closely for cracks.

TELLIT01

There are a number of questions here.  How long ago was the shower installed?  Was waterproof grout used?  Is the silicone sealant between shower tray and tiles showing signs of deterioration?  When was sealant last replaced?

A quick search on Google suggests shower trays should be resealed at least every 2 years.

Sea_Shell

If its a concealed thermostatic cartridge shower, it may be the physical cartridge itself leaking.   We had this happen.    We had to remove tiles to get to it and fix it.   It turned out to just be a cracked plastic blanking cap on one of the unused inlet/outlets.