House Insurance Claim - opinions needed

[Laurafoster]

Why is it that insurance companies manage to make you feel so stupid sometimes?!

When we got back from our wedding we discovered that we had a broken pipe in our ceiling which had caused water to leak through our ceiling.

We phoned our insurance straight away who advised us that we needed to get a plumber out to find out where the leak was and get the leak repaired. They also told us to get a couple of quotes for repairing the damage and send them all off to the claims dept. At this point i specifically asked if i would be covered for the cost of calling a plumber out over Christmas - i was told i would be as it was an emergency repair.

We have since been told by our insurance company that we are not covered for any plumbing costs as it falls down to poor maintenance?!

Ive looked althrough my policy and can see no mention of plumbing costs. The part the insurance company is referring to is -

"Your policy does not cover you for the cost of gradual deterioration - it is not a maintenance contract. It is a condition of the policy that you keep you property in good order to advoid damage"

Im not happy as ive had to pay out £240 for a plumber

When i spoke to them today they advised that they could have gotten me an emergency plumber out to stop the leak - but that i would have had to sort the repairs out which i wouldnt have been covered for!

I guess im just Sooo fustrated that they did not give me the correct info at the time! Otherwise i would not have had to pay the cost of getting a plumber out on a sunday!

I dont know wherther i should just leave it or if i should complain? Im more irritated about them givin me the incorrect information at the time of the original call!

 

[wils]

We had an enclosed pipe leak between the main house and the extension and we couldn't claim for the repair of the pipe but could for the decor and ceiling that it damaged.

So, sorry that is probably right - we didn't try to claim as we haven't a clue on such things but we always use the same guys for repairs etc and they told us to claim for the resulting damage but not the pipework

 

[natalielongstaff]

when our tank leaked we had to pay for a new tank ourselves but claimed for the re-decorating.

sounds like you were mis-informed during the 1st call but given the correct info now

 

[carolfoy]

I'm in the middle of paying out about 6 grand for a new roof due to a huge leak last december that the insurance company refuse to cover me for as its down to poor maintainance - I mean when was the last time you checked the flashing around your chimney? they also said I was dramatically under insured for my rebuild costs - a warning to everyone to ensure your cover is put up each year!!!

 

[DisneyJo]

Same here I'm afraid we had a pipe leak and it ruined the kitchen work tops and down stairs loo, we had to pay for the pipe to be fixed but insurance paid for damages!

 

[tony64]

Poor maintenance??

How are you supposed to maintain boxed in pipework???
who says how often it needs to be inspected??
I would ask your insurance company to show you where this information is in their conditions.
There is no routine maintenance for water pipework that I can think of unless they mean some sort of pressure test on the system?
Annual servicing of your gas boiler and checks for leaks on the gas pipework is routine but not your water pipework. I think you have a good case to argue this one out with them.
Ask a Corgi registered plumber if there is any type on annual test for domestic pipework. If he says yes than fine. If he says No then pay him to put it in writing and watch the insurance company squirm.

If the plumber said No and you took the company to the small claims court they would not be likely to fight it as it would cost them more than it would to just pay you out.

 

[Minniespal]

Poor maintenance??

How are you supposed to maintain boxed in pipework???
who says how often it needs to be inspected??

I've asked this question in the past.

Insurance companies always seem to have way of wriggling out of things.

 

[carolfoy]

I asked my insurance company the same question when they said about my roof but apparently it always states in the small print that its the house owners responsibility to maintain their home!
They quoted me a patch up job on my roof at about 7K of which I'd end up paying almost £4500 so I told them to get stuffed and I'll add onto my mortgage for a whole new (guaranteed) roof.
I'm waiting for the builder to put the scaffolding up then will tell cancel my insurance and shop around for a better deal.

 

[Laurafoster]

Well fortunately for me i have a mate who is a Corgi registered heating engineer - who said he doesnt chec his pipes on a regular basis - and he has never been advised to.

The leak in the pipe was caused by too high water pressure which caused the pipe to burst?!

I phoned and spoke to a manager who informed me that thier call notes state that i refused their free emergency plumber and that i was told they wouldnt pay for repairs!? So i politely asked to hear the phone call and said if i was told this information i would apologise. - I know i wasnt told that information so i'll see what they come back with. I have no issue in maintaining my home but i do wonder as to how im surposed to maintain a pipe that runs underneath my floor boards upstairs?!

Like i said im not too bothered about the money although that is alot of money to me. The point was more their couldnt care less attitude. One guy in the call centre even told me that if i had "accidentally" put a nail through the pipe - i would be covered?!

 

[wils]

Like i said im not too bothered about the money although that is alot of money to me. The point was more their couldnt care less attitude. One guy in the call centre even told me that if i had "accidentally" put a nail through the pipe - i would be covered?!

Sounds like a real saga. Hope you get some joy re the poor service if nothing else.

Insurance is a funny thing. I have supressed my limited knowledge (I worked in marketing for an Insurance company a while back ) but I always remember the example of storm damage on a fence where it wasn't covered if the fence had been blown down by the wind but if the wind had knocked a tree down which had fallen on the fence that was claimable. Sounds like your nail!

 

[Goofyish]

If you have no joy from complaining to your insurance company you can go to the Financial Ombudsman:

http://www.financial-ombudsman.org.uk/default.htm

 

[tennisfan]

If you have no joy from complaining to your insurance company you can go to the Financial Ombudsman:

http://www.financial-ombudsman.org.uk/default.htm

I was going to suggest that too, also 99% of calls are recorded so that should work in you favour.

All insurance companies want to do is take you premium and hope you never claim. It has taken us nearly 3 weeks to get the pet insurance to pay out for an op on my dog after stating they turn around all claims within 2 days

 

[Chilly]

I don't really know anything about pipes but surely if the pipe burst because the water pressure was too high that's not your fault and couldn't be prevented?

 

[Andy B]

It is very easy to complain about insurance but some of us work in the industry and do not try to avoid paying claims but deal professionally.

It does appear that information given at the time may have been incorrect or missinterpreted in the midst of the problem.

A number of insurers would have sent their 'pet' trademen out to deal with the leack but just to stop it, the repair of the pipe itself would not be covered unless damaged itself by an insured happening. The damage caused by the leaking pipe would be covered in all cases.

Insurance is not meant as a maintenance cover and we are all expected to keep our houses in reasonable repair. It is difficult to check pipes but all things have a batural life which is why old houses are replumbed and rewired. Without knowing the age of the house in question or when any pipework was replaced it would be impossible to be specific, however it is unusual to say that the repair of the pipe is not covered because you need to check it but as mentioned earleir such repairs are nor normally covered anyway.

With regard to roofs they too have a limited life depending on the type, and often they hold together longer until one part is damaged by say a storm then because the whole roof is not in good condition it can be very difficult to do a partial repair of the damaged part as the rest needs replacement also. Under these circumstances the insurance would pay a contribution equivalent to the partial repair toward a major overhaul.

 

[jockey]

Laura, I would complain about this. It does sound as though you have been mis informed and hopefully this will be proven if you get to hear the phone call.

Insurance companies never want to pay up. I have encountered this twice this year with lost baggage and health insurance. Stick with it and hopefully it will pay off

 

[Laurafoster]

Well i got a phone call back from the insurance company yesterday. For some reason they were "unable" to locate my call. Funny That!

Anyway she said that their call notes indicate that i was informed that they could get a plumber out to stop the leak or at i could get a plumber out at my own cost.

The pipe itself is not old as the bathroom was completely re plumbed a few years ago. According to the plumber there had been a build up of pressure causing a screw to come out of the pipe. Once the leak had been found and stopped - the repair took all of 10 mins. If i had not needed to get an emergency call out on a sunday the cost would have been significantly less.

As i did not get anywhere with the insurance company i did make a complaint to the Financial Ombudsman.

Stupid thing was that i was not after a refund of these charges. A simple apology for being given the wrong information was all i wanted!

 

[TraceyL]

Amazing

Slightly off topic but I remember the only time (in 14 years) that I claimed on my home contents policy - I rang up to inform the insurance company of a change of address and to check I was covered 'in case the removal men broke anything'. They did break some stuff and when I tried to claim I was informed that I hadn't told them I was 'moving house'. They insisted that a change of address notifcation for home contents insurance did not mean we were moving house & as I had not told them we were physically moving we were not covered
It took them 6 months to find the tape of the call to prove I had indeed mentioned removals & cover before I got my items replaced.