Home Insurance: Gas Leak repair not covered?

lisyloo

yes which is a good reason for starting the clock ticking as early as possible
we can only control the things under our control.

I'm in dispute with an energy provider, but I set the clock ticking and switched away to minimise losses as soon as I could.

dosh37

Based on my experience, my advice to anyone who smells gas would be NOT to call the gas emergency service.

All they do is disconnect the gas supply and leave you with no heating and no hot water.

If you then pay someone to fix the leak (including doing some of the work yourself), the insurance company will not pay for the repair work.

However, if you ignore the problem and there is a gas explosion, then you are covered by home insurance and you get a nice new house. The downside is that you might get blown to pieces but hey-ho.

jugeo12

dosh37, a few bits to point out.

1.) Nothing unreasonable about the insurer seeking to validate your claims that the pipework eroded as a result of the water leak. They are asking for the opinions of two appropriate professionals.
2.) You said the plumber / gas engineer did not respond. I would hope these are not the only professionals within their respective field in the entire country?! Could you possibly contact another set of contractors for a quote? (apologies as I felt the need for sarcasm here )
3.) You are complaining about the policy excesses and coverage not being suitable / not fit for purpose. Why did you pay for the insurance? Plenty of options on the market for you to choose from.
4. The FOS will look at your complaint and measure it on the basis of whether the insurer acted 'fairly'. Given that they (the insurer) have made a reasonable request in asking you to support your claim with the opinion of industry professionals (which is common practice within all claims handling processes) then I cannot see your complaint being upheld if you've not made sufficient effort to adhere to these requests. This isn't to put you off from making a complaint (you are entitled to) but that is just my opinion. As mentioned by another respondent, you need to complain to the insurance company first before the FOS will review this.

I know you feel the insurer is against you but they're not.

FYI

dosh37 said:

...However, if you ignore the problem and there is a gas explosion, then you are covered by home insurance and you get a nice new house. The downside is that you might get blown to pieces but hey-ho...

Incorrect. You are usually required under the general conditions of your policy to prevent loss or damage. If you were aware of such an issue and failed to act reasonably to prevent a loss from occurring i.e. you blatantly ignored a gas leak knowing that it was at risk of causing a fire (or another form of loss), then your insurer would be entitled to deny your claim.

Annemos

Re your point 2),  jugeo12

I can assure you that it is really difficult these days to get anybody out to quote. 

They are all stacked up with work and can pick and choose just what they go out to. 


Plus, it is also very difficult to get anybody to actually commit to any opinion. 

I know, because I am in this situation, too. They will verbally say, it, but they will not write it down.