Drain displacement - worth claiming

Saltfish

After getting a blockage cleared to main waste drain from kitchen outside house (still on my property) engineers found a displaced drain - so one 3 meter section of drain has sunk and doesn't line up properly and is probably letting some wastewater escape into ground/foundations.
I have the engineers report and video files from the drain camera and my home insurance policy is by Advantage (through Hastings) . The estimated cost of repairing this is £2300 plus VAT. Is my insurer likely to cover and is it worth it? Policy says it includes Buildings, escape of water trace and access and subsidence.

DullGreyGuy

£2,300 certainly wouldn't be worth while claiming and having to declare for the rest of the property's life that it suffered from subsidence. 

You need to read the EoW section to see what it states, some require the escape to have caused damage and if washing away soil is considered "damage" may be debatable.

Saltfish

Thanks for your reply DullGreyGuy - but what do you mean declare subsidence? The house has no signs of subsidence - also can you explain what is EoW please?

sheramber

Saltfish said:

Thanks for your reply DullGreyGuy - but what do you mean declare subsidence? The house has no signs of subsidence - also can you explain what is EoW please?

Escape of Water?

ThorOdinson

Where exactly is this 3m section? Because it sounds like it is has sunk then anything near it is in danger of subsiding as well.

DullGreyGuy

Saltfish said:

Thanks for your reply DullGreyGuy - but what do you mean declare subsidence? The house has no signs of subsidence - also can you explain what is EoW please?

To be able to claim for the damage you have to be able to prove its one of the insured perils that have caused the damage... Fire, Theft, Impact, Escape of Water (EoW), Subsidence, Storm, Accidental Damage, Vandalism, Lightening are the typical perils Home covers.

For it to be EoW you would have to explain why/how the water escaped in the first place. However you said the pipe has sunk in the ground which would point to subsidence. 

Saltfish

The pipe has sunk at the join between two sections - it's a matter of 2 inches and, as the join between 2 sections, it's an obvious weak point -also the drain clearance guys said it is because of the material used (terracotta/masonry) and the sections that the pipe was not flexible enough- the pipe lies on a bed of gravel which can obviously move after 40 years of groundwater. All the surrounding patio is level - the house is level and I have no reason to suspect subsidence (nor did a full building survey when we purchased 2 years ago). I would imagine it's possible for a drainpipe to displace slightly without significant subsidence  - the depth is well above the foundations of the house in any case. The risk of subsidence will of course increase if left unremedied. 
So it seems that the cause is age, wear and tear, and the original construction - from the comments here it seems I can't claim on that basis - unless I argue the cause is subsidence (which I don't believe) and that would then be a catch 22 I guess, as if accepted my premiums would increase?

DullGreyGuy

Saltfish said:

So it seems that the cause is age, wear and tear, and the original construction - from the comments here it seems I can't claim on that basis - unless I argue the cause is subsidence (which I don't believe) and that would then be a catch 22 I guess, as if accepted my premiums would increase?

Not only would your premiums increase but you'll be stuck with a very limited pool of insurers that will consider you and it'll devalue the property at the point of selling it.