When is it worth claiming on house insurance?

[SueEllen]

Do bear in mind that once you have this conversation with them they WILL record it and you MUST then declare this from now on, regardless of claim. People have seriously got caught out with this before.

And people on claims lines tend not to be the most intelligent people.

Only if you take it further due to their initial incompetence do you get to deal with people with intelligence.

[vetran]

If the tap was faulty, and you had not repaired it, then it is unlikely to be covered. Our bathroom floor (chipboard) disintegrated because the sealant round the bath wasn't watertight - they said it was wear and tear so not covered. Cost us £1000s. Similarly when the water pipe under the drive leaked - they have a limited life and are expected to fail after n years, so not covered.

£1000s?

Blimey I got a load of replacement chipboard and the wife came home to me hanging off beams screwing it down.

She was a bit upset about coming home to find the bath on the driveway, I explained it was there or next time she used it she would drop through into the garage.

[radish2008]

We just had a similar thing - kitchen flooded due to hot water feed corroding and the flexi hose bursting - flooded the living room as well so new cabinets and new flooring in kitchen and living room - £2k worth of damage. They wouldn't pay for the replacement tap.

[FrontEnder]

If the tap was faulty, and you had not repaired it, then it is unlikely to be covered. Our bathroom floor (chipboard) disintegrated because the sealant round the bath wasn't watertight - they said it was wear and tear so not covered. Cost us £1000s. Similarly when the water pipe under the drive leaked - they have a limited life and are expected to fail after n years, so not covered.

This isn't the case in my experience. I had small section of the house with a flat roof that leaked. The assessor came out and said the leek was caused by regular wear and tear.

Repairing the roof was not covered, but the damage caused by the escape of water was. The insurance company were happy to pay out a for the damage covered, this included replacing the plasterboard, laminate floor and re-painting all the walls. The cash for this came to a few hundred pounds, which was enough to get the roof sorted + materials for re-decorating. The ceiling actually seemed fine, so I just repainted it with stain-block and it looked fine, did all the rest of the work myself.

To the OP, just claim. An assessor will come out and it's only at that point if you choose to go ahead will it actually be a claim that you have to declare on new quotes etc. If they accept the claim, they cover the cost of paying someone to do the work, so if you can get a cash settlement instead and can do the work yourself, you'll be quids in.

[t0bytoo]

Just moved into an old house and had a burst pipe in the concret beneath the kitchen floor. The insurance covered most of a new kitchen.

Once they'd established that it was valid claim they send round damp experts and were very easy to work with.