Home Insurance Claim- help

Yasminakash

Hi All, we have a leak in the kitchen whenever the shower gets used upstairs. I am clueless as to whether this would be an insurance job or should I get someone to fix it. Never claimed anything from home insurance in my life. Can someone advise me on this please? My finances are tight atm and I am freaking out whenever I think about this 😢

ThisIsWeird

Almost certainly not an insurance claim, as it is a leak that you are, and have been, aware of, and can now prevent. And if there has been no, or little, actual damage caused, then there is nothing to claim for - insurance is not there to fix your plumbing or reseal your tray.
Had it, instead, been a hidden leak which caused unseen damage until it finally brought your ceiling down, or a large spontaneous leak that ditto, ie one that suddenly caused unanticipated damage like a ceiling coming down, then most likely, yes, it would be a claim.
Insurance isn't there to cope with a lack of maintenance, tho', and chances are this is an issue that can be fixed by resealing the shower tray or drain, wherever the leak is coming from.
However, do check your policy carefully, and see if, perhaps, you have Home Emergency cover, for example. That might do the job, but expect a fair excess charge. And any claim might also lead to raised premiums.
Any idea where the water is getting through? Could you post some clear photos of your shower and tray, and where they join?
Where is the water coming through? If the ceiling is damaged enough to require a repair, then it's a good way to get access to see where the water is escaping from.
Anyhoo, have a cuppa and read your policy

CliveOfIndia

Good advice, as ever, from ThisIsWeird.

Insurance will not normally cover wear & tear or routine maintenance issues.  Even if you were covered, odds on it would cost you more in the long run to make a claim than to sort it out yourself.

It's possible that there's a leak somewhere "internally" within the shower mechanism, as it were - this might be a little tricky/disruptive to sort out.  Or a leak in the drain pipe - which can also be a bit tricky to get access to in a shower (a bath or wash-basin is usually pretty simply to access)

However, it's far more likely that it's simply a case of the sealant has cracked.  It's not at all uncommon for the silicon sealant around the edge of the tray to split/pull away - it's a very simple and cheap DIY job to remove the old sealant and replace it with some fresh silicone.

If the sealant is OK, it could be that the grout between the tiles has cracked in places - again, not at all difficult to DIY.

ThisIsWeird

CliveOfIndia said:

Good advice, as ever, from ThisIsWeird.

Thanks, but y'ain't seen some of my recent posts... :-(

Albermarle

Hopefully the issue has not yet caused any serious/permanent damage that will not just dry out ( hopefully) . So no need to panic just yet.
However you need to find out why it is leaking and stop it. You need to go through a kind of trial and error process to find out what is happening.
Try putting the shower head directly over the drain and see if it then leaks. If it does then it is the drain that is leaking. If it does not then you will have ruled that out as the cause.

DullGreyGuy

Yasminakash said:

Hi All, we have a leak in the kitchen whenever the shower gets used upstairs. I am clueless as to whether this would be an insurance job or should I get someone to fix it. Never claimed anything from home insurance in my life. Can someone advise me on this please? My finances are tight atm and I am freaking out whenever I think about this 😢

It would depends on where the water is leaking from... if the supply pipe to the shower or the waste pipe has developed a leak then the leak itself won't be covered but the resultant damage may be. If you have Trace and Access cover then finding and damage done to do so is also covered but still not the fix. 

If the water is getting around failed grout, sealant, cracked shower tray etc etc then this isn't covered.

As soon as you talk to your insurers you then have a recorded "incident"/claim which you will need to declare going forward even if the matter is declined as not covered. 

Yasminakash

Thanks ThisIsWeird and CliveOfIndia. Both are very informative. The below picture from the kitchen ceiling. Can’t find where the leak from the shower 🤦‍♀️

Yasminakash

Thank you so much all of you . That’s a quite a lot of good information.

ThisIsWeird

Yasminakash said:

Thanks ThisIsWeird and CliveOfIndia. Both are very informative. The below picture from the kitchen ceiling. Can’t find where the leak from the shower 🤦‍♀️

Is that ceiling paper, or the actual plasterboard buckling?
Do you know anyone who's practical - a neighb, friend, work colleague, relative - who could have a look at your shower just to try and work out how the water is getting through?

Eldi_Dos

That is quite substantial damage and I think would have taken a lot of water to cause that. You want to stop using shower and taps  until leak is found and fixed, but your most immediate action should be getting a electrician to check the safety of your supply.