Insurance covering water loss 10 October 2022 at 4:47PM in Water bills 12 replies 220 views

littlemissconfused23

Hello. I am with Affinity Water. Around 10 years ago there was a leak under our driveway that we only became aware of when a bill for £34000 arrived! Affinity fixed it and cancelled the bill. 2 years ago we had a problem internally and also a bill for around £500 was cancelled. Affinity say that we are allowed 1 internal and 1 external claim and that's it. They will not pay out again. I have no need to claim, however I cannot find any company that insures against water loss rather than repairs etc - Affinity's own insurance do not cover it. They recommend I manually check the meter once a week to make sure it's not spinning when the water is turned off.... I would be happier if I could get cover. Anyone know of any company that offers this?

DullGreyGuy

Have you checked your home insurance? They can cover loss of metered water if the underlying risk is covered though some limit it to accidental damage and theft. 

littlemissconfused23

Thanks, I did try them but they cover up to a max of £1000 due to a broken water supply pipe - to include repairs etc. I did phone them but they will not specifically cover water loss - and not for the amount that I would feel comfortable with 

Swipe

It's good practice to check your water meter weekly. I know it's saved me in the past

littlemissconfused23

Thanks Swipe, just seems there should be a better day in this day and age. I was hoping maybe a water smart meter would help but it seems this too is not yet available. I know businesses can change suppliers but individuals cannot yet - if this was available I would hope the 2 claims (1 external and 1 internal) might be re-set

MattMattMattUK

Even checking monthly would likely show this kind of leak, £500 is around 250 cubic meters of water, £34,000 of water is enough to fill an Olympic swimming pool seven times, that is not the kind of leak that you could miss checking monthly, the £34k leak is not one that I would expect could be missed even without checking a meter, it would flood most gardens. 

DullGreyGuy

littlemissconfused23 said:

Thanks, I did try them but they cover up to a max of £1000 due to a broken water supply pipe - to include repairs etc. I did phone them but they will not specifically cover water loss - and not for the amount that I would feel comfortable with 

That will vary by policy... I looked at an Aviva policy (noting they have dozens of different wordings depending on channel etc) and it had no inner limit so in theory would pay up to the policy limit. That said, if you have lost £300,000 of water they may ask questions of how you didnt spot it earlier if you are following the general terms of keeping reasonable care of your property.

littlemissconfused23

MattMattMattUK said:

Even checking monthly would likely show this kind of leak, £500 is around 250 cubic meters of water, £34,000 of water is enough to fill an Olympic swimming pool seven times, that is not the kind of leak that you could miss checking monthly, the £34k leak is not one that I would expect could be missed even without checking a meter, it would flood most gardens. 

Thanks, unfortunately we are next door to a council park - slightly downhill of us - which absorbed all of the water. There was no sign of the leak on our property. Nice to know however approx how much water it was! 

Sterlingtimes

Severn Trent has provided me with a smart water meter which is positioned down a dirty hole at the bottom of my drive and is not easily readable. Severn Trent can monitor water usage in real-time by radio but does not yet provide web-based statistics to its customers. Presumably, now Severn Trent is responsible for identifying abnormally high water usage, given that it monitors the house but does not provide the customer with statistics for self-monitoring.

QrizB

Sterlingtimes said:

Presumably, now Severn Trent is responsible for identifying abnormally high water usage, given that it monitors the house but does not provide the customer with statistics for self-monitoring.

That's quite a leap of logic.

Is the new smart water meter significantly more difficult for you to read than the previous non-smart one was?

Severn Trent's instructions are here:
https://www.stwater.co.uk/my-account/my-water-meter/find-and-read-your-meter/

My meter isn't smart and, like yours, is down a hole at the end of my drive. I need to take a screwdriver (to lift the cover) and a sponge (since the hole is always full of water). Once I can see the face of the meter I take a photo of it for my records.

It's not the easiest job but I try to do it quarterly.

Sterlingtimes

QrizB said:

My meter isn't smart and, like yours, is down a hole at the end of my drive. I need to take a screwdriver (to lift the cover) and a sponge (since the hole is always full of water). Once I can see the face of the meter I take a photo of it for my records.

It is a bit difficult to explain why I cannot read the meter. My eyesight limitations are part of the problem. The digits are mostly covered by the device that sits above the meter. I would need one of those flexi-camera instruments to read this meter.