Water damage due to poor worksmanship - how to proceed?

masterofmilk

We uncovered an issue with our house whereby the builder (a major national one) did not install appropriate drainage in the Openreach broadband duct just outside the property, resulting in rainwater ingress over the past 9 years since the house was built.

Because the water was entering under the insulation, there was no visible damage hence why it took us so long to work out something was wrong, essentially by cutting holes in the floor.

NHBC won't help because the issue originates "outwith the property". House insurance won't help because the issue is "pre-inception" - i.e. the issue dates back years before the policy started (I renew with a different company every year like most folk).

The builder has now rectified the drainage so no more water will enter, but don't seem to be willing to help out much further - they just said make a claim against their insurance via our insurer. But as I say, our insurer won't take on the issue as they determined it's outwith the policy. So we are now stuck not making any further progress.

Any suggestions what next steps should be? Ombudsmen, lawyer, regulated, email head office? We are in Scotland if that makes a difference and as I say, this is a major "5 star" building company so it's not like they are short on resources. All we are after is for them to do a survey for damp and in all liklihood put some industrial dehumidifiers in to dry everything out so we don't have rot, etc. in the future.

BarelySentientAI

masterofmilk said:

We uncovered an issue with our house whereby the builder (a major national one) did not install appropriate drainage in the Openreach broadband duct just outside the property, resulting in rainwater ingress over the past 9 years since the house was built.

Because the water was entering under the insulation, there was no visible damage hence why it took us so long to work out something was wrong, essentially by cutting holes in the floor.

NHBC won't help because the issue originates "outwith the property". House insurance won't help because the issue is "pre-inception" - i.e. the issue dates back years before the policy started (I renew with a different company every year like most folk).

The builder has now rectified the drainage so no more water will enter, but don't seem to be willing to help out much further - they just said make a claim against their insurance via our insurer. But as I say, our insurer won't take on the issue as they determined it's outwith the policy. So we are now stuck not making any further progress.

Any suggestions what next steps should be? Ombudsmen, lawyer, regulated, email head office? We are in Scotland if that makes a difference and as I say, this is a major "5 star" building company so it's not like they are short on resources. All we are after is for them to do a survey for damp and in all liklihood put some industrial dehumidifiers in to dry everything out so we don't have rot, etc. in the future.

Not a claim on your policy - the legal assistance part of your policy.

ThisIsWeird

masterofmilk said:

House insurance won't help because the issue is "pre-inception" - i.e. the issue dates back years before the policy started (I renew with a different company every year like most folk).

MoM, what do you mean by 'pre-inception'? When was the issue discovered - during which policy, your current one or a previous one? 
I understand the claim would be under whichever policy was in use at the time the issue came to light - you paid that company for cover during that period - but if you didn't inform them during its duration, then you may struggle. 

I could be wrong, tho'.

masterofmilk

BarelySentientAI said:

masterofmilk said:

We uncovered an issue with our house whereby the builder (a major national one) did not install appropriate drainage in the Openreach broadband duct just outside the property, resulting in rainwater ingress over the past 9 years since the house was built.

Because the water was entering under the insulation, there was no visible damage hence why it took us so long to work out something was wrong, essentially by cutting holes in the floor.

NHBC won't help because the issue originates "outwith the property". House insurance won't help because the issue is "pre-inception" - i.e. the issue dates back years before the policy started (I renew with a different company every year like most folk).

The builder has now rectified the drainage so no more water will enter, but don't seem to be willing to help out much further - they just said make a claim against their insurance via our insurer. But as I say, our insurer won't take on the issue as they determined it's outwith the policy. So we are now stuck not making any further progress.

Any suggestions what next steps should be? Ombudsmen, lawyer, regulated, email head office? We are in Scotland if that makes a difference and as I say, this is a major "5 star" building company so it's not like they are short on resources. All we are after is for them to do a survey for damp and in all liklihood put some industrial dehumidifiers in to dry everything out so we don't have rot, etc. in the future.

Not a claim on your policy - the legal assistance part of your policy.

So it would still be processed like a normal claim but rather than for property damage it should be for legal costs to pursue the builder to cover the cost of the damage? Sorry if this is basic, but I've never had to claim on home insurance in the past 15 years since owning.

We have always had esstentials type cover so my current policy doesn't have "Family Legal Assistance" - do home insurance policies normally have some basic legal cover as default? I can't see any mention of it on my schedule..

masterofmilk

ThisIsWeird said:

masterofmilk said:

House insurance won't help because the issue is "pre-inception" - i.e. the issue dates back years before the policy started (I renew with a different company every year like most folk).

MoM, what do you mean by 'pre-inception'? When was the issue discovered - during which policy, your current one or a previous one? 
I understand the claim would be under whichever policy was in use at the time the issue came to light - you paid that company for cover during that period - but if you didn't inform them during its duration, then you may struggle. 

I could be wrong, tho'.

The insurance company sent an independent evaluator to physically inspect the issue and ask some questions. His view  is - due to the nature of the ingress and I had originally reported it to NHBC in 2021 but they just fobbed me off - that this likely dates back at least several years if not to the original construction of the house (which I agree with). Therefore as my current policy started in July 2023, the issue is "pre-inception" and not their problem. 

The difficulty is that even if I went back to a prior insurer, how do I prove that the issue started during that policy period? I could hear water under the floor for several years, but it was only last November that we had a visual confirmation.

There was no way I could have informed any insurance company when the issue originally arose because it was happening under the house with no way to diagnose or detect.