Confused with Insurance claim for Shower leak

tsar76

I've never claimed on my insurance and its just doesn't seem very clear or straighfoward as claiming on car insurance. It just seems right from the start I can't seem to get a straight answer or any guidance on what to expect from my insurance company with the claim.

So the pipe that takes the water away from the shower broke under my shower, so all the water going down the plug hole went thru the floor and downstairs. I took the panel below the shower tray off and I can see that the two connecting pipes have disconnected. I call the plumber and he says the pipes cant be reconnected, its not two pipes, he said what type of pipe it was but I've no idea. He said he not sure if it can be fixed without removing the shower tray and enclosure and probably need all new cos doesn't think with tiles it can be put back together again. He did warn that they may need to remove more of the bathroom if they cant do anything with that pipe from this side of the bathroom/where it comes into the shower. It seems its been a bit of a crap job whoever did this bathroom.

So my mum said why not see what you can cliam off the insurance as at a minimum I should be covered for downstairs that will need repainting cos you can see all the water marks.

So no leak now cos no one is having a shower, can see that pipe has disconnected but it cant be put together again. 

My insurance include the trace and access and they said get the plumber to send an estimate for that. But we knows the issue is that pipe is no good and need replacing and its not a quick fix to replace. So what will the insurance pay for here, its so confusing they just seem to quote stuff like trace and access but just wont explain anything in simple terms.

Thanks

Mark_d

You have discovered that two pipes are disconnected and can't be reconnected.  If this is fixed would the leak stop, or are there other faults in the current set-up?  You insurance want to get someone who would answer these questions.

As your mum says, the insurance will pay for the damage to downstairs.  They may pay for more but this will depend on what happened to cause the leak.

DullGreyGuy

You're correct in that Home is a much more complex product than Motor with many more optional extras etc. In part it's because 50% of all motor claim costs are the third party's and the law defines what your insurer must pay so doesn't need a long set of terms etc in the policy book. This does mean you have to read the terms of your personal policy and advice given here can only be general and may not actually apply to your personal policy.

For this type of claim it may be considered Escape of Water or Accidental Damage depending on how it broke, in most cases it will be EoW. There are four components of such a claim:

1) Finding the leak
2) Fixing the leak
3) Reinstating the repair damage
4) Reinstating the resultant damage

1 - Covered if you have Trace and Access
2 - Gaining access is covered with T&A but actually fixing the leak itself isn't 
3 - Covered if you have T&A in most cases
4 - Covered irrespective of if you have T&A

The other consideration is if you have "Matching Set" cover or not. Let's assume you have a beautiful avocado green bathroom suite and the shower tray has to be broken in the process of gaining access to the leak. The insurer tries to find a replacement one but no one makes that classic 1970s shade of green. Without matching sets cover they will just give you a white or green shower tray and you just have to live with the difference; with matching sets they'd pay for your toilet, sink and bidet to be replaced so that all items are matching going forward (if you want). 

If you're already on white suite then tiles are another one where lack of matching set cover can be a problem. 


Depending on your insurer, location etc they may ask you to get quotes and settle in cash to you or they may instruct their preferred suppliers to do everything after the leak has been fixed and pay them directly.