Water Leak behind cabinets

spluff

I hope someone could help me.

I am with Ageas and noticed slugs in the kitchen.  I pulled the kick board off in the corner of the kitchen and noticed a big wet stain on the floor.   There is a big grey waste pipe behind the cabinets in corner and it looks like there was signs of dribbles on it so I think it may be coming from that.

The problem is access to the pipe to investigate/fix.

Initially I got a handyman to investigate and fix as I didn't think about using my insurance.

He tried accessing the corner in the bathroom but the units wouldn't budge at all and feels they are glued together with the bathroom worktop all connected and is tiled.   Getting access this way would cause major damage to the units / worktop and tiling and would be an eyesore.  I presume all the units would need replacing

The other option would be to go upwards via kitchen but again this has fitted kitchen units and a massive fitted and tiled hood in corner so again would cause major damage and be a pain to repair so I guess would need to replace kitchen units completely.

Would my insurance cover the investigation / fixing and replacement of damaged units and cover the cost to get similar ones so they all match as I don't want mismatching units.  I have checked the insurance terms and it confuses me what would be covered.

Kind regards

Mark_d

If you don't understand your insurance policy then you need to call them and ask them the questions

spluff

Thanks but I want to know what peoples experience and thought before I ring them and open a claim.  Thats the whole point of a forum.   Thanks for your help btw

Mark_d

spluff said:

Thanks but I want to know what peoples experience and thought before I ring them and open a claim.  Thats the whole point of a forum.   Thanks for your help btw

Everyone's experiences are different because the situations are different and their insurance policies are different to yours.  What does your policy document say about tracing leaks/investigations?  The forum can possibly help with interpretations...but I'd be surprised if anyone can do any more

spluff

Yeah I understand that Mark thanks for your help.

I just want some general opinions to help me decide if I should actually bother contacting the insurance.  If its worth having that on the insurance record or just biting bullet and doing it via a tradesman.  

The excess is £250 i think

cw8825

spluff said:

Yeah I understand that Mark thanks for your help.

I just want some general opinions to help me decide if I should actually bother contacting the insurance.  If its worth having that on the insurance record or just biting bullet and doing it via a tradesman.  

The excess is £250 i think

people will need to at least know who your policy is with to give you an idea of whether it is covered.

Otherwise its just a stab in the dark

XRS200

First post says Ageas doesn't it

cw8825

XRS200 said:

First post says Ageas doesn't it

Thanks for pointing out. 

They won’t cover it.  Finding the leak is  specifically excluded unless you have paid extra and I would like to think the op would know if they paid extra to add it on

spluff

cw8825 said:

XRS200 said:

First post says Ageas doesn't it

Thanks for pointing out. 

They won’t cover it.  Finding the leak is  specifically excluded unless you have paid extra and I would like to think the op would know if they paid extra to add it on

Thanks for this update.

• Sometimes it’s not easy to find where water or oil is leaking from. So, providing your buildings have been damaged by the leaking water or oil, we’ll cover any reasonable costs you have to pay to find the leak, and that includes the cost of repairs to walls, floors or ceilings.

I presume that a damp stain on the floor behind the kitchen cupboards is not classed as building damage?

• We won’t pay for repairs to the pipework or other parts of the water or heating system unless they’re caused by freezing. If they’re damaged for any other reason, this part of the policy won’t cover you.

So even if they did find the location.  They wouldn't fix it because it wasn't caused by ice.

DullGreyGuy

spluff said:

cw8825 said:

XRS200 said:

First post says Ageas doesn't it

Thanks for pointing out. 

They won’t cover it.  Finding the leak is  specifically excluded unless you have paid extra and I would like to think the op would know if they paid extra to add it on

Thanks for this update.

• Sometimes it’s not easy to find where water or oil is leaking from. So, providing your buildings have been damaged by the leaking water or oil, we’ll cover any reasonable costs you have to pay to find the leak, and that includes the cost of repairs to walls, floors or ceilings.

I presume that a damp stain on the floor behind the kitchen cupboards is not classed as building damage?

• We won’t pay for repairs to the pipework or other parts of the water or heating system unless they’re caused by freezing. If they’re damaged for any other reason, this part of the policy won’t cover you.

So even if they did find the location.  They wouldn't fix it because it wasn't caused by ice.

What you require is Trace and Access cover, its on mid to high range products and not on basic cover. 

Insurers dont typically cover the cost of actually repairing the leak itself but will cover the damage caused by the leak. So on a decent policy the insurer pays hundreds or thousands to find the leak, the policyholder pays a hundred or two to fix the leak and the insurer then pays thousands or tens of thousands to repair all the damage the escaped water caused. 

You get similar with fire claims on motor, they dont cover the cause of the fire but cover the resultant damage, often it means the customer has to pay £1 for a new fuse and the insurer pays the rest (obv other times its a much bigger failure that caused the fire)

spluff

DullGreyGuy said:

spluff said:

cw8825 said:

XRS200 said:

First post says Ageas doesn't it

Thanks for pointing out. 

They won’t cover it.  Finding the leak is  specifically excluded unless you have paid extra and I would like to think the op would know if they paid extra to add it on

Thanks for this update.

• Sometimes it’s not easy to find where water or oil is leaking from. So, providing your buildings have been damaged by the leaking water or oil, we’ll cover any reasonable costs you have to pay to find the leak, and that includes the cost of repairs to walls, floors or ceilings.

I presume that a damp stain on the floor behind the kitchen cupboards is not classed as building damage?

• We won’t pay for repairs to the pipework or other parts of the water or heating system unless they’re caused by freezing. If they’re damaged for any other reason, this part of the policy won’t cover you.

So even if they did find the location.  They wouldn't fix it because it wasn't caused by ice.

What you require is Trace and Access cover, its on mid to high range products and not on basic cover. 

Insurers dont typically cover the cost of actually repairing the leak itself but will cover the damage caused by the leak. So on a decent policy the insurer pays hundreds or thousands to find the leak, the policyholder pays a hundred or two to fix the leak and the insurer then pays thousands or tens of thousands to repair all the damage the escaped water caused. 

You get similar with fire claims on motor, they dont cover the cause of the fire but cover the resultant damage, often it means the customer has to pay £1 for a new fuse and the insurer pays the rest (obv other times its a much bigger failure that caused the fire)

Thanks for the explanation.

I have just made enquiry with Ageas and trace and access is covered.  

The excess on the policy is £750.

As you said they would cover to find leak but not repair and bill me separately for that.

Any damage to units would be repaired but no guarantee a like for like replacement or they would give me the cost to buy the unit.  

They said I would have to find a plumber to do the job,

Not sure if it is actually going to be worth using insurance now.