House Insurwnce

Groundhog22

I moved to direct line last year having been with police mutual for many years. Police mutual had increased to over £700 pa despite no claims.
anyway I have a leak in the bathroom that seems to be coming from under the shower.  I’m disabled pensioner so can’t really look to see what the problem is. I’ve noticed on here that showers are sometimes excluded from house insurance policies which is now worrying me. My property is well maintained and I’ve never made any claims previously. Has anyone any experience with shower leak claims or am I worrying unnecessarily. 

MyRealNameToo

It will depend on what is leaking...

Insurance doesnt exclude showers but it does exclude things that happen gradually over time, so if a pipe has burst then you are probably ok but if the grout has failed then you probably arent. 

Home insurance typically won't cover the pipe itself, unless you put a nail through it or something, but will cover the resultant damage from the escape of water. The critical question is if your policy covers "trace and access" or not. If it does they will provide someone to find the leak, get to it and fix the damage of doing so whereas if your policy doesnt have T&A then those are your costs to pay and the insurer only deal with the water damage

Groundhog22

Thank you
its worrying as how would I know the sealant had broken down if there are no obvious signs. Oh dear more worry again 🫣

MyRealNameToo

Groundhog22 said:

Thank you
its worrying as how would I know the sealant had broken down if there are no obvious signs. Oh dear more worry again 🫣

Looking for the source of a leak can be difficult and hence why the better home insurance policies include trace (and access) as a coverage. 

Unless there is a gaping hole its often a matter of having to take the tray out and seeing where the damp is worst... if its directly under the outlet and radiating out from there its probably a problem there. If one area of sealant looked bad and the wall where it was down to the floor is wettest then it probably was that.  

Groundhog22

MyRealNameToo said:

Groundhog22 said:

Thank you
its worrying as how would I know the sealant had broken down if there are no obvious signs. Oh dear more worry again 🫣

Looking for the source of a leak can be difficult and hence why the better home insurance policies include trace (and access) as a coverage. 

Unless there is a gaping hole its often a matter of having to take the tray out and seeing where the damp is worst... if its directly under the outlet and radiating out from there its probably a problem there. If one area of sealant looked bad and the wall where it was down to the floor is wettest then it probably was that.  

Still seems unfair if the leak wasn’t evident though, there was nothing to suggest there was a leak until last night or is the householder expected to check your sealant periodically to make sure it’s not leaking.  I probably won’t bother involving my insurance as I’m worried it is the sealant and then I won’t be covered plus my premiums will still go up I expect. 

Thank you for your advice 

dumpster_fire2025

Groundhog22 said:

MyRealNameToo said:

Groundhog22 said:

Thank you
its worrying as how would I know the sealant had broken down if there are no obvious signs. Oh dear more worry again 🫣

Looking for the source of a leak can be difficult and hence why the better home insurance policies include trace (and access) as a coverage. 

Unless there is a gaping hole its often a matter of having to take the tray out and seeing where the damp is worst... if its directly under the outlet and radiating out from there its probably a problem there. If one area of sealant looked bad and the wall where it was down to the floor is wettest then it probably was that.  

Still seems unfair if the leak wasn’t evident though, there was nothing to suggest there was a leak until last night or is the householder expected to check your sealant periodically to make sure it’s not leaking.  I probably won’t bother involving my insurance as I’m worried it is the sealant and then I won’t be covered plus my premiums will still go up I expect. 

Thank you for your advice 

Check your policy and phone them. Asking people for advice on the internet over hypotheticals isn't particularly useful if they don't know the full details either.

Groundhog22

No true but I think if you ask and they refuse to pay you still have to declare it if you decide to change insurers
il know more next week when the shower is taken out to see the extent and source of the damage 

MyRealNameToo

Groundhog22 said:

MyRealNameToo said:

Groundhog22 said:

Thank you
its worrying as how would I know the sealant had broken down if there are no obvious signs. Oh dear more worry again 🫣

Looking for the source of a leak can be difficult and hence why the better home insurance policies include trace (and access) as a coverage. 

Unless there is a gaping hole its often a matter of having to take the tray out and seeing where the damp is worst... if its directly under the outlet and radiating out from there its probably a problem there. If one area of sealant looked bad and the wall where it was down to the floor is wettest then it probably was that.  

Still seems unfair if the leak wasn’t evident though, there was nothing to suggest there was a leak until last night or is the householder expected to check your sealant periodically to make sure it’s not leaking.  I probably won’t bother involving my insurance as I’m worried it is the sealant and then I won’t be covered plus my premiums will still go up I expect. 

Thank you for your advice 

Insurance is there to cover sudden unexpected events from happening; it is not a home maintenance policy. Over a long enough timeline all grout and silicone will fail so is a question of when not if and yes the insured are expected to do periodic checks and deal with minor maintenance issued before they cause serious damage. 

Groundhog22 said:

No true but I think if you ask and they refuse to pay you still have to declare it if you decide to change insurers
il know more next week when the shower is taken out to see the extent and source of the damage 

Most insurer require you to inform them of any losses irrespective of if you claimed or not. So if you are an honest person you would be making the declaration anyway however having made a claim thats been declined as not covered makes it much harder to "forget" to mention it again in the future.