Shower leaked into kitchen and is not covered

summer78

Hi can anyone help me please? I have never claimed for home insurance but i have a slow leak from my shower (i think its the sealing) that is coming through into the kitchen and creating a nice brown damp patch in the kitchen ceiling.

I was hoping to be able to claim for this from house insurance i have building and contents and accidental damage with elephant.co.uk

I have just called them for advice and was told that if it is caused by sealing that is classed as wear and tear and is not covered i have to get it fixed and then they decide if they will pay for it.

I didnt follow through with the claim as i think it is a sealing problem and was hoping to get insurance to replace the lot. My questions are is there any insurance companies that will cover this (as i will swap to them for the future) and is there any way around this "wear and tear" clause that i could get the job done via insurance? Ie could i use the accidental damage angle?

Thanks any advice is much appreciated as i have never claimed on home insurance before.

lisyloo

I'm not aware of any policies for household maintenace.
The best way to deal with it would be to put money aside each month for maintenace (in a seperate account if it helps).

I don't think you will be able to claim it's an accident.
It would be very obvious to the repair person and hence the insurance company that this is wear and tear.
Of course you could drop a hammer in the shower, but I wouldn't recommend it because if they say NO you would be left with damage and you might never get insurance again.
On a moral level I'd never recommend fraud but in this case there's a very high chance you'll be sussed out.

jessjess_2

you are trying to claim for escape of water, generally the cause is never covered unless caused by ad (ie nail into pipe etc), but the resultant damage should be. if its been a slow leak and you have just left it then they may repudiate it on that basis, if you have dealt with it promptly then one would expect the damage to be covered.