QUESTION
I own a leasehold ground floor flat with concrete floors. I recently had an under floor water leak which was quickly traced to a faulty dishwasher connection. Initially it seemed possible that the Karndean vinyl flooring, which was showing no damage, might have needed taking up to investigate. The buildings insurance for the flats only covers me for trace and access if there is damage. As there was none visible I would not have been able to claim and emergency home cover would not have covered the very high cost of taking up and re laying the flooring.
Are there insurance companies that would enable me to take out insurance in case a leak under the floor reoccurs in the future and I need to rip up the floor to find it with no sign of visible damage?
If this was not a ground floor flat then there would have been damage, as water would have dripped through the ceiling. The companies I have approached say that unless there is damage they have no suitable policy.
ANSWER
It is standard within the insurance industry that the policy will only provide cover if actual damage has occurred. Some materials, e.g. ceramic floor tiles, are designed to withstand being immersed in water and therefore can be dried out again without sustaining damage: Therefore, if they are not damaged as a result of an escape of water there would be no claim under the policy.
If, however, there was an escape of water from a burst or leaking pipe it is fairly probable that there could be damage to plaster walls, timber skirting boards, kitchen cupboards, electrical cables etc. so if there was visible damage to these items (which are considered to be part of the building) then a claim would be considered for trace and access to find the cause of the leak: If the plumber who is looking for the source of the leak needed to excavate part of the concrete floor to try and trace the source of the leak then the resultant costs of repairing the concrete floor (labour and materials) would be covered by the policy only if there had been some damage to the buildings – the damage would not necessarily need to be to the concrete floor itself but to another part of the building (walls or skirting board, for instance) which had been damaged by water from the same leak.
If the plumber had traced the leak to under the concrete floor and the vinyl flooring was fixed down in a manner which meant that it couldn’t be removed without damaging it then the Trace and Access cover under the policy would include the cost of the replacing the flooring up to any limit stated in the Policy. If the vinyl flooring was only stuck down at the edges or loose-laid and could be lifted without damaging it then there would be no claim for the cost of the flooring if it could be re-used but the cost of any adhesive and labour to remove and relay the vinyl would be considered.
It is also worth pointing out that if the cause of the water damage was not from a burst or leaking pipe in a fixed water/heating installation but was found to be from rainwater penetration through a faulty window, door, wall or roof then there would be no cover for Trace & Access. If the damage can be traced back to a leaking pipe then the cost of repairing the pipe itself is usually not covered under the policy (it is usually down to wear and tear) unless the pipe itself can be shown to have been damaged by an Insured Peril (such as Impact or Accidental Damage) which caused the leak to occur.
Alan Vine, Technical Manager at Deacon Insurance
