fitzscoob

So after a long day at work I came home to find a small puddle of water coming up under my oven...

A mate of mine who is a plumber came around and couldnt locate a leak from anywhere near the oven, none of the pipes are wet etc. and there is no puddle behind or under the oven now.

Not massive amounts of water, after wiping it away a couple of times its been fine since. The problem I have is that I live in a top floor flat. I have warned the guy underneath to keep an eye out and let me know if he gets any issues.

My flooring (laminate) has bowed in places, and a couple of the slats have buckled slightly, so I now believe I have had a small leak somewhere in the flat and its under my flooring.

I phoned the insurance company and they said that it wasnt an emergency so phone again in the morning.

I've never had to deal with anything like this before, whats the likely outcome, will they send a plumber around who will try to locate the leak and generally rip up the flooring and cupboards to find it?

x-helen-x

Yes they will send a plumber round to trace and access leak normally.

What is your policy excess and Insurers? If its within excess then you would be liable for costs anything above would be paid by Insurance Company if issue not down to wear and tear but depends on policy if they would pay for resultant damage.

If damage gets worse or flat below shows signs of escape of water from your flat then both of you would need to make sure and your Insurance Company would appoint a Loss Adjusting firm which flat below would recover costs from your Insurance.

PM me if you need help/advise. Work myself in claims over 100K in damage at Loss Adjusting Firm.

fitzscoob

Hi Helen, thanks for the reply.

Zurich are the insurers for the building, its all part of our service charge here. I had a look on the policy document and it looks like im going to have to stump up a £500 excess for water damage. Considering my flooring is shot and they'll have to do a bit of work to find the leak I'm sure the work and the subsequent replacement of flooring is going to eat up that cost.

andythejock01wrx

Yup, thought from the terminology it was someone else in the trade!

Agreed.

To add, OP may well not be liable for downstairs damage - they need to show he has been negligent.

As you have suggested, insurers may not pay for plumber but are likely to pay for the water damage itself.

AtJ

fitzscoob

Thanks for the info.

I would have thought bearing in mind its a top floor flat and there is someone underneath me that any suspected water leak would be classed as an emergency and someone would be sent straight around. I wasnt expecting the lady on the end of the phone to tell me to phone up after 9am in the morning.

d7nmr

Read your policy wording, this will help u out alot too.

I like th way uve just explained that, i used to work min household too for RSA, which firm u working for?

fitzscoob

Well the insurers have instructed me to get a plumber around to perform a track and trace. The plumber then needs to give me an itemised bill detailing the repair cost actual and the finding the leak cost.

Apparently I have to pay for the repair itself.

I then have to get 3 quotes to repair the work and the insurance company will pay for repairs, minus their £500 excess charge.

Looks like its going to be a fun week!