Home insurance woes

[natefz6]

It sounds like a pipe has bust under my dining room :/ I noticed an odd hissing last night and on further investigation could also hear dripping in to a pool under the floor (there is a 2.5 foot void).

We have engineered flooring fitted and it runs under all the skirting and through rooms so its not easy to pull up. I checked my policy and we have track and trace cover for water leaks so I though happy days I will call them up and sort out a claim.

As usual with insurance for me the problems started near straight away, Santander logged the claim and said the under writers were Ageas and I could call them to chase in 2 hours but they should be in contact in 48 hours. 3 hours later I call them and they tell me that I have no policy with Ageas and I will need to speak to Santander. Another 90 mins on the phone and I am back through to Ageas who say that as I cant see any damage yet I don't have a claim to make. They do not cover plumbing but if I do find damage when I find the leak I can them make a claim for the track and trace....

So now.. Do I take up the skirting/flooring/floorboards myself and get a plumber in to fix the pipe. This will I guess leave all of the make good to me. Or do I get a plumber in to do the lot then if there is damage then the insurance co will cover the make good. The only point being if there is not damage then there is no claim so I get stumped with a bigger bill.

I cannot see through the floor so I dont know what damage there is...
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"no I didn't steal it that's just the way I ride"

[woo]

if its gets worse its you thats gonna suffer not the other person on the phone.
Id do whatever i could to get it sorted asap as leaking water can cause hell in a house!
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Elen sila lummen omentielvo!

[natefz6]

The water is off at the moment so not getting worse as such but with two kids and the wife that is not something that can continue..

But yeah maybe its time I started pulling boards up
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"no I didn't steal it that's just the way I ride"

[dodsi]

Carefully pull the floor up yourself and get the leak sorted.

We had a whole new heating system installed then all brand new flooring put down throughout then noticed a small leak. I got the plumber out and we had to pull up a number of carpets and new vinyl flooring to trace it. but this was the best thing we did as we found it in some of the old hot water pipework and resolved it - relaid the flooring and dried out the wall where the leak showed before painting back over it. It cost relatively little to sort all these things out and I am in a first floor flat - this could have been a lot worse had i let it go on for the sake of a few quid to a plumber.

[Rogerborg]

They'll pay for a track and trace if it tracks and traces a leak, but not if it doesn't?

Hissing and dripping? How can there not be a leak? Get a plumber out to take up the floor. Tell them up front that the insurer will pay for track and trace only, and they'll fiddle the bill accordingly - or at least mine did.

Take plenty of pictures of the work. Once you've got a claim in, they are likely to send an assessor out.

Curiously, my last policy from the same insurer covers plumbing work but not track-and-trace. At a wild guess, they discovered that all customer invoices were for 2 hours of T&T and 30 seconds of plumbing work.
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Biking is 1/20th as dangerous as horse riding.
GONE: HN125-8, LF-250B, GPz 305, GPZ 500S, Burgman 400 // RIDING: F650GS (800 twin), Royal Enfield Bullet Electra 500 AVL, Ninja 250R because racebike

[natefz6]

[Rogerborg]

What does it say on your contract?

Fact is, you need to get it sorted, and your first problem is going to be finding a plumber who will actually show up at all, so I'd suggest you get calling ASAP. I went through half a dozen before I lucked out with one who actually wanted the work.

He knew exactly how much my insurer would pay, and how to produce the invoice. Probably scalped himself 4 figures over the private cash-in-hand cost, but given the antipathy that I also experienced from my insurer, I was happy to help him help me to screw them.

So I'd have no hesitation in pouring a jug of water on the carpet, taking a picture, then getting stuck into the floorboards. You can always lay them down and encourage the plumber bill the bulk of the work to "track and trace".

Corrvpt scvm, etc.
____________________
Biking is 1/20th as dangerous as horse riding.
GONE: HN125-8, LF-250B, GPz 305, GPZ 500S, Burgman 400 // RIDING: F650GS (800 twin), Royal Enfield Bullet Electra 500 AVL, Ninja 250R because racebike

[Ste]

I'd expect that if you don't do the necessary "maintenance" now then they'll be unwilling to pay for damage which wouldn't have happened if you fix it now.

I'd start carefully pulling up floorboards to inspect the damage so that you can phone the insurance company back ASAP and report the damage to them.

[arry]

[Rogerborg]

Oh, most important: insist on the plumber accepting Bitcoin.
____________________
Biking is 1/20th as dangerous as horse riding.
GONE: HN125-8, LF-250B, GPz 305, GPZ 500S, Burgman 400 // RIDING: F650GS (800 twin), Royal Enfield Bullet Electra 500 AVL, Ninja 250R because racebike

[natefz6]

The guy that fitted the floor and also fits bathrooms is popping round. He is a good chap so hopefully can help me out.
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"no I didn't steal it that's just the way I ride"

[arry]

[janner_10]

[natefz6]

After some poking and prodding and pulling off one bit of skirting we got a bit more visibility of the pipe in question. Water was running down it from above floor level indicating that the leak was actually up in the wall not under the floor... few..

The flooring/handy/plumber guy said basically if I can get to it he will pop round tonight to fix it. After some fun with a crow bar I have found the leak.

https://lh3.googleusercontent.com/7hd6dTklXFkcF2LUiCzMgdOlbsB54ASnUR5KLBF3lym6_75miPKWx0EgxGAd5Pd1sEe5BpPOh6LplM8wylDF1h8R-I1ELK8ERUkSAh4IPoSsZ5b6PpFM6f9Sl00NxE-hLSNYz2Y2FDv8ZD0Nwdz0g1BJH9Pfnxxe6FSz9mbfoJH6Pw6j2xTfKGFoVAFhbna9M0gro33xYwq2neblVFimC4AoYsD1bQiogGMaYUyW9hBbl3c8yws4rULbUYTff6nYJR5y5SaJ7qAy7l7-RynEgCqWp4tG9OrHMquavvwU-bYd8WNQu4_c0aSnfwHteh6Vl65Q7o1rvx8fSOYvAEbUgkgrAW1sF-0HhS9ZpFvpW0h6eFR1W2I4HpXtIFmkCuB3ZMSQ6jEOcKWO7XDB4RP75Q6WX8JFhb-OngDWo00R9AOqlW19zuhxZ2UeKMiya2SfiUZKLK5uafiH1ZsDjprhmI4Dtc9rHPDes9oI6JuPCRXbwihe5BjRQRxIXGdYMJcAwuK_gwvOKv00kgqw0cpTpShJIyNGhKaurKadaRBhkRrHb856FEqbDAY-oos0soWxl0otcgwxJnaGz-vLfDR5bjr_JIosxL8aZLrO2PiygFO6aDhEx1WG6igrguDYnYAE53KQba4UZt-JIZ8PcBxcpxVxNpXbqhq8XQ=w528-h703-no

Looks like no claim will be needed as I can get everything sorted for less than the excess will be, I still have the paint etc from when I decorated so should take me less than a day to get sorted.

Thanks all.
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"no I didn't steal it that's just the way I ride"

[Anna Graham]

When we bought our house, we didn’t notice that the en-suite shower is leaking. Later it started to spread on the wall in the bedroom and damaging walls itself and flooring. We contacted our insurance company hoping that we could get at least some costs covered, but it was useless. The insurance company blamed us for not being attentive, without even checking our problem. A friend recommended us to find a new agent and check the rates on https://www.moneyexpert.com/home-insurance/ . My husband said that our home insurance rates are too high, compared with those, which are available on the market. We found a new agent with a more suitable contract and lower rates. The only thing left is to find a good plumber.

[MCN]

[chickenstrip]