Insurance cover for shower leaking through ceiling?!?
My shower has developed a leak which has now caused part of the ceiling underneath it to start to fall down. I want to know if this is likely to be covered by my buildings insurance before I give them a call in the morning. I don't have access to my paperwork to check, but I'm with Legal and General. Does anyone have any experience of this?
Thanks
Generellay, the bursting of fresh water pipes is a covered "peril" under most homeowners type policies. Since this could be a drain, you might have a problem. Can you determine if it is fresh water?
I would think so..Certainly worth a check..Regarding you're insurance policy can't you go on their home page and check to see if they cover bursts?
I have been an insurance adviser for 3 and a half years.
Damaged caused by the escape of water is generally covered under both buildings and contents policies.
However, there are often some exclusions and a rather common one is that damage is sometimes not covered if it has happened as a result of a 'gradually operating cause' rather than it being sudden and unforeseen. These things vary from insurer to insurer, you would need to refer to your policy booklet to be sure.
If u get a burst pipe then it will certainly be covered. But if u are referring to a leak u have been aware of since before the ceiling was damaged and u have watched the ceiling gradually become damaged over a period of time, some insurers may decline to pay out for this and if they do it will certainly be stated somewhere within the policy (although it may not be that obvious).
my insurers came changed the ceiling and all the floor boards and I had a new bathroom downstairs as the bath downstairs was damaged they also changed all the tiles we had two new bathrooms from our insurance claim
Answers:
we had a boiler leak and the ceiling downstairs and the carpet that was ruined was covered although the carpet was claimed for on the contents insurance and the ceiling on the buildings insurance. good luck hope it gets sorted soon. xxx
A Standard buidings and/or contents policy will cover for 'Escape of Water' so you will be coverd for the damage caused by the water itself e.g. to plaster, ceiling, general contents etc..
There is no cover for the damage to pipes so under a standard policy you will have to pay for any repairs to pipework.
If it is the shower system itself that is leaking it his highly unlikely that an 'insured event' will have caused the leak.
It is much more likely that the damage to a shower would either be a product fault or general wear and tear over time- therefore again you will need to pay for repairs or replacement yourself.
A standard policy should cover you for the repair to the ceiling but not for the plumber's bill to fix the leak. However, this may be covered if you have a seperate or optional extra emergency cover. If this is the case, the claim for the leak repair may have to be reported within 24 hours otherwise it will not be classed as an emergency and this bill will have to be footed by yourself.
If any contents are damaged if the ceiling collapses, these will be covered under your contents policy. If this is a seperate policy, then you will be required to pay 2 excesses, even if the two policies are with the same insurer.
All the best!