Burst pipe or leaking tank? What to do before you call your insurer

How and when we should claim on our home insurance policy.

Have a plan in place before things go wrong, and you’re forced to scramble for your insurer’s emergency number.  Picture: iStock

As a homeowner, at least a couple of lesser domestic disasters are to be expected over the years. Passive as they seem, buildings are silently guiding water and power around the space. Exterior fabrics are subject not only to time but to unexpected weather events, where temperatures and tempests can rudely peel them apart or lessen their lifespan leading to an abrupt failure like flying slates or a collapsed rainwater system. Our insurers have a level of expectation in regard to maintaining our homes, so when the plumbing delivers a Trevi fountain across the great-room, or the oil tank leaves a sulky trail of stinking kerosene across the garden path — who is responsible to pay up? If you need emergency help, this may or may not be covered by your policy.

Check with the insurer immediately with your policy number in hand as they may have repair specialist partners they favour who can get to you swiftly and put things right. If any electricity is involved and you cannot safely turn off the power, call ESBN immediately (1800 372 999). Where there’s a gas leak or you suspect something is up with the gas system, turn it off if you can safely reach it, open the windows, go outside and call Gas Networks Ireland (1800 20 50 50). Stay outside until help arrives.

When something sudden, unexpected and unintentional occurs to cause damage to your home that you suspect is covered by your insurance policy, you will need to explore the detail of the policy including coverage and excess. However, in the moment, if it’s safe, you might be able to deal with the situation to the best of your abilities. That could mean shutting off the stop-cock to the water supply, or throwing down every bath towel you can muster into the deluge that’s cheerfully shouldering off your laminate parquet from the sub-floor.

Read your home insurance policy now to understand clearly what is and what is not covered.

However, this is also the moment, before seriously clearing anything up, to make a careful, visual record of what’s happened. You may need it for your insurance claim, and if you hire your own assessor for a serious insurance claim, it will be useful for them too. Your phone camera is perfect for the job. We need sharp pictures showing both closer detail and setting the problem in a wider context. If there’s a leak from the pipework under the sink, take a close shot of the failed joint, and then leaving the cabinet doors open, take a wider shot of the adjacent soaked floor. Don’t climb a ladder to record roof damage, just do your best with the zoom facility of the camera (check the shots to see if the resolution is reasonable).

When to claim and when not to claim? Obviously, if this is something likely to run into thousands of euro in repairs, a claim makes perfect sense as it will far outstrip any excess set out in your policy. The Competition and Consumer Protection Commission (CCPC) say, “When making an insurance claim, your first step is to check your full policy (not just the summary) so you know exactly what is covered and which policy to claim under. Contact your insurer quickly, follow their advice and make sure the value of your claim is higher than your excess. An excess is the amount you pay yourself when you make a claim – for example, if your excess is €100 and the repair costs €300, your insurer only pays €200.”

With any home insurance policy, just as with your car, there’s a no-claims discount (NCD) plumbed into the price. Losing your NCD could increase the cost of your home insurance policy by more than 30%. The only solution is the extra expense of no-claims bonus protection – basically insurance on your insurance. Even no-claims bonus protection may not completely protect your next policy against a hike in the event a major claim like extensive roof damage caused by stormy weather. If the cost to repair or replace is below or close to the excess — pay for it yourself to protect your NCD.

There’s a time-frame for making an insurance claim, but there is generally some leeway here. Call the insurer’s emergency number where you need immediate assistance, and the standard claims number otherwise. Obviously don’t dawdle about contacting your insurer, as this can muddle the evidence of what occurred, leading to a rejected or delayed award. Calling the emergency number, you may be offered a plumber known to the insurance company. They may attend faster than your local plumber, so don’t automatically turn down this help. If there’s been a theft or malicious damage, you should inform the Gardai, and your insurer will expect this if you’re covered by them. If the person who stole from you or vandalised something in the home was there legally there – the insurance may not cover you.

You will want to know if you’re covered for whatever accidental damage has occurred, and asking the insurance representative doesn’t mean you must follow through on the claim for the damages and/or repairs. When you are made on offer of settlement (the offer could take weeks or months with larger claims) – you can still negotiate with the insurer.

You cannot claim more than the insured value of contents in the house. The insurance company will revert to the “average clause” if you do, reducing the award often dramatically as you were clearly underinsured. They use a proportional formula for individual items lost or damaged (partial loss). There’s also a little detail called “claim retention” which the insurer may apply. This is (and I’m using Axa’s wording here) money retained from the final payment until “repair, replacement or re-instatement works are completed and validated through the submission of a final invoice”. It’s up to you to follow up on this, offer up any validation, and claim that percentage of the claim left outstanding.

Going forward, always read your policy through and take time to study the excesses, terms and any endorsements to the details. Accidental damage is not wear-and-tear. This is regarded as the general maintenance expected of any homeowner. Did you know that if a single chair is damaged and it’s part of a matching suite, most insurers will only pay you for the value of that chair? Computer systems and electronic data are generally not covered. Open-fronted buildings damaged by storms are generally not covered. If you hire someone to clean up spilt oil from your oil tank, ensure that the insurance company have agreed to cover the claim and for you to use that firm for the emergency clean up. If a branch falls from a tree in high winds and hits the house, you’re likely covered. If a branch is cut down by you, and falls on the house, you’re probably not.

The three steps from the CCPC should be burned in your brain as a homeowner:

• Call your insurer or broker as soon as you discover a problem. Many have a free emergency helpline.
• Give brief details of the claim and request a claim form.
• Follow the advice given by your insurer or broker. For example, if your home is damaged, they may suggest emergency repairs – always check if these costs are covered.
  

• Log onto ccpc.ie for further information on all types of insurance products