To think you can claim this on the house insurance?

[WeIsh]

Hi,

My parents had a leaking pipe in the kitchen. I fixed the leak for them but it has ruined their wooden floor. I’m trying to convince them to claim on the house insurance but they are claiming it’s not possible because I fixed the leak for them and they don’t have a receipt from a plumber? And that mentioning a leak will make the house impossible to insure again.

They are being ridiculous right? It’s a big kitchen and will cost a lot of replace the floor. The quotes I’m looking at are about £5-6k which they definitely cannot afford, and that’s not including installation or underlay. Yet they don’t even want to mention it to their insurers!

I think it’s definitely worth a call to their insurance company to check.

It doesn’t mean the house is uninsurable at all, we claimed for virtually a whole new bathroom after a nightmare of a leak and our premiums barely rose.

Thanks, that’s reassuring and what I have been telling them. It’s utterly bizarre they are so resistant to claim!

I had a leaky pipe, they said they would pay to trace it but no more, could have different conditions, but it's far from guaranteed.

My husband left taps on in downstairs loo ruined our wooden hall floor. Our insurance paid out no problem whatsoever.

I'm in a flat, the management company organises buildings insurance, and it does cover redecoration after leaks. I had a radiator leak for two weeks while I was on holiday, about a month after I moved in. The insurance covered repairs. They sent a surveyor to check the damage.

I wonder if they are too embarrassed to admit they don't actually have insurance.

Ha ! A friends child (6/7years old) decided it was best to leave the bathroom tap running all day, whilst parent and child were at work/school. Mum came home to ruined carpet, furniture and most of her downstairs neighbour (flats) sitting room totally destroyed. Insurance paid up, despite the ‘fix’ being for mum to switch the tap off. Never had she been so glad that she had taken insurance out!

I had a leaky pipe, kitchen ceiling came down. Insurance paid for the pipe fix, the ceiling repair and repaint. There was something they didn't repair, can't remember what.

The floor was undamaged but they would have paid for it. I've had no issues getting insured again and no noticeable impact on premiums.

They need to speak to them, not just guess. The trick with insurers though is to let them know as soon as something happens. Not after it is fixed.

The first thing insurers usually tell you to do when you report a leak is to stop it to prevent any more damage, which is what you did. So I would think you’re ok on that front and they will probably cover the floor replacement.

This is an escape of water claim. The cost of fixing the pipe probably won't be covered, but the cost of fixing the damage the water has caused should be!

@notdaddycool Damn that sucks. I hope it didn’t cause too much damage.

This one was pretty straight forward, the pipe under the kitchen sink must have become loose and then fell apart. Was an easy fix but caused a lot of damage.

They definitely have insurance - I know because I helped them take it out after they were ripped off by their old insurance company. I’ve even shown them the wording and they still refuse to claim 😑

“Escape of water or oil
We will cover loss or damage caused by:
a. escape of water from any:
i. fixed domestic water installation;
ii. heating system (including radiators and boilers);
iii. washing machine, dishwasher, fridge or freezer;
at your property; or
b. water freezing in tanks, apparatus and pipes at your property; or
c. escape of oil from any fixed domestic oil installation at your property.”

Yes we’ve have 2 new floors across our entire downstairs in one house (dishwasher got stuck on pump over night and we had a cm of water across the downstairs), and 2/3 of this current house (which was bonkers because a pipe leaked in the cloakroom and because they couldn’t match the flooring as it was 17 years old, they had to do all the hard flooring throughout downstairs. Only 3 planks were damaged but insurance company insisted. House insurance is much better than car insurance in my experience. We had a loss adjuster visit the first time to assess and I thought they’d push back but nope, paid up more than we expected and very quickly.

@NeedAHoliday2021 They sound like a very good company to deal with! If I can convince my parents to claim I hope their insurers are as good as yours.

They would be covered under escape of water part. Premiums may rise but not to the extent of the price they would pay out for a new floor. They would need to check excess. Probably £250 voluntary and a compulsory for the EOW claim.

Thanks everyone btw! I am going to show this thread to my parents tomorrow. Hopefully they will be reassured by what they’ve read.

That was 2 different companies - nationwide and Aviva. The second time I did feel we’d get a reputation! First house had 6 year old cheap laminate flooring put in by builders and we were able to replace with porcelain tiles in the kitchen and hallway then carpet in the living room. This house was karndean but old and looking like replacement was coming within 5 years at a stretch. I was baffled when they said they’d cover it all. Premium went up about £2 a month after the second claim but flooring was about £4k!

Last time I had a leak it cost the insurance company more to put everything right than Id paid for the actual house.

Tell them this is what there bloody insurance is there for.

And that mentioning a leak will make the house impossible to insure again.

Maybe they're getting confused with flood damage - that's an entirely different matter to a leaky pipe.

www.admiral.com/magazine/guides/home/things-which-can-invalidate-your-home-insurance
@WeIsh they can refuse insurance if you don’t inform them according to this.

@ErrolTheDragon www.money.co.uk/home-insurance/can-home-insurance-cover-flooding. Reading this it looks like insurance would still be possible to get although may be costly and restricted to certain insurers. ?

Yes, I know people can (should) be able to get insurance after flooding, but it may be more difficult and/or expensive. That may be what the OPs parents are worried about, vs more commonplace damage from a plumbing problem.

We had a plumbing leak which ruined our downstairs carpet, dining table and chairs. It was at Xmas, we'd gone away but fortunately the window cleaner was working Xmas Eve and found a neighbour who had a key and was able to turn the water off. The insurers sent in people to clear up the mess and dry the house, then replaced the furniture (which wasn't cheap stuff), and the carpet including the stairs and landing so it all still matched which seemed a bit above and beyond to me!

@ErrolTheDragon good to know - wasn’t sure I had read it correctly regarding flood insurance. I admit to thinking that your insurer who covered the flood loss, couldn’t refuse continued insurance, yet all other insurers could. Nice to know tis not so! (As someone who lives uncomfortably near a river).

I work in claims management. The resultant damage can be covered under EOW. They need to explain a plumber wasn't needed as you were able to fix the damage. If you have any photos or receipts for parts, this will help. It may be worth them authorising you to also deal with the claim so you can explain the situation.

Similar here

Flood is water coming in from an outside source.
Insurance companies will ask if the any of the property including the land has been flooded in the last 25 years (think of where house is situated near a watercourse etc)

Escape of water is a leaky pipe, burst pipe etc

EOW is a very common claim.

Please tell your parents to claim if the job is expensive. I understand their reluctance but this is what they’ve been paying their premiums for