Insurance - Do we have a leg to stand on 21 December 2022 at 4:37PM edited 26 December 2022 at 10:05AM in Insurance & life assurance 26 replies 2K views

SergeantBaker

Kitten_Pie said:

We checked we always check. Although the water was off there was still a trickle coming through the kitchen tap so when we checked the bathroom there was no trickle there was nothing. There was no reason to believe it was open.

How did you check, looking at an upstairs tap with no water coming through or physically checking it was turned off?

Someone turned it on, left it on and you went out.

I can't see the insurance company viewing it any other way. 

macman

Unless you are suggesting that the tap valve spontaneously failed, undid itself and allowed the water to flow when the supply was restored, then it's indisputable that you left the tap open. Easy enough to do if you opened it fully to check if there was any flow, but nevertheless it's not insured without accidental damage cover on your policy. 
I'm sure everyone sympathises with your situation, but the insurers are not in the sympathy business, and will take the view that you should have taken accidental damage cover.

MisterNick

I haven't read the thread in its entirety, and have not done much research, but I thought the wording was escape of water...
More than say this https://www.morethan.com/home-insurance/guides/escape-of-water/ and Aviva say this https://www.aviva.co.uk/insurance/home-products/home-insurance/water-damage-protection/
Before I go out, I don't go checking for running taps, but if one was left on I would expect to see it or hear it. In this case only physically turning the tap would have revealed it was on. Insurers must know this but don't specifically exclude it as far as I know.
On the accidental position the insurer has taken, an insured peril can be caused by an accidental action. If a fire was accidentally left on overnight and caused a fire, I would expect the damage caused by the fire to be covered under the peril of fire regardless of whether AD was taken out.
Not trying to give the OP false hope, and whilst it would be nice if I was right, please feel free to correct me  

DullGreyGuy

MisterNick said:

I haven't read the thread in its entirety

Always helps if you do

MisterNick said:

More than say this https://www.morethan.com/home-insurance/guides/escape-of-water/ and Aviva say this https://www.aviva.co.uk/insurance/home-products/home-insurance/water-damage-protection/
Before I go out, I don't go checking for running taps, but if one was left on I would expect to see it or hear it. In this case only physically turning the tap would have revealed it was on. Insurers must know this but don't specifically exclude it as far as I know.

The links you provided already explained what escape of water is, water getting out of a fixed system due to  damage to the system. There was no damage to the OP's sink or tap, it was just accidentally left on causing the sink to overflow

MisterNick said:

On the accidental position the insurer has taken, an insured peril can be caused by an accidental action. If a fire was accidentally left on overnight and caused a fire, I would expect the damage caused by the fire to be covered under the peril of fire regardless of whether AD was taken out.
Not trying to give the OP false hope, and whilst it would be nice if I was right, please feel free to correct me  

All comes down to wordings so picking on Aviva as you did "Fire" is defined as:

Fire - Accidental combustion caused by an external heat source, such as a spark or candle.

By the policies explicit wording it covers accidental issues, this isnt the same for EoW

casper_gutman

ThisIsWeird said:

DullGreyGuy said:
 There was no damage to the OP's sink or tap

The sink waste was blocked by an unanticipated act outwith Kitten's control. Where does that fit in, I wonder?

I wondered that too. I note that my insurance specifically lists escape of water due to a blocked toilet as a risk that would be covered. Then again, it also says that flooding due to leaving a tap on would not be covered. I think the OP needs to read their policy wording carefully....

If the damage wasn't covered by my own insurance, I'd consider checking with my insurer's legal protection people to see if they thought the water company might have any liability. I suspect I'd end up having to deal with the cost myself, but no harm in asking.

FreeBear

Kitten_Pie said: This week:

• 2 tyres blew on the car -ARGH! AA called money spent
• Ceiling collapses - ARGH!
• Lights go on car - GRRR! booked in for check tomorrow morning suspect more money to be spent.

I also suspect this isn't the end of things and trying to stay positive. If anyone can give me more positive help that would be really appreciated right now.

One tyre blowing is easy to deal with, having two go, agreed, the AA membership is worth having.

As for the other two... Have a look on your local Adult Education site - My local council run a number of free courses covering subjects such as carpentry, tiling, and plastering (you'll probably find one for basic vehicle maintenance too). Even if you don't feel able to get your hands dirty doing plastering, ripping down the old ceiling and fixing new plasterboard up is pretty easy. If you can get all the preparation work done yourself, it will save time and money on getting someone in to skim the ceilings.