Escape of Water Claims: A Plain Guide

Stage one: the first hour after you find the leak

Everything the insurer asks later depends on what you do now. Close the stopcock, then turn off the electrics to any room where water is near sockets, lights or the consumer unit, but only if you can reach the switches without standing in water. If a ceiling is bulging, put a bucket underneath and, only if the electrics to that room are off and you can stand to one side, make a small hole at the lowest point to let the water out in one place. If the ceiling is sagging badly, keep everyone out of the room instead.

Before you mop or move anything, take photos and a short video: the source if you can see it, every affected ceiling, wall and floor, and your belongings where they sit. Include a wide shot of each room so the adjuster can see scale. Then move contents to a dry room, lift rugs, and prop wet furniture on blocks.

Keep the failed part. A split pipe, burst flexible hose or cracked fitting is your best evidence that the escape was sudden rather than gradual. The first ten minutes of a water leak covers the make-safe steps in more detail.

If water is coming through a light fitting, or you cannot turn the electrics off safely, leave the room and call an electrician or the plumber before anyone goes back in.

Stage two: get the cause found and repaired

Your policy expects you to stop further damage, so the leak should be fixed straight away even before the insurer replies. Many buildings policies include trace and access cover for a hidden leak, usually up to a set limit, and many accept an emergency repair by your own plumber provided you keep the invoice and a note of what was found. A few insist on their own contractor for anything beyond make-safe, so read the claims section of your policy or ask when you report.

For a hidden leak, a good engineer works from least to most invasive: checking the water meter with every tap off, pressure-testing the heating and cold mains, then using thermal imaging, acoustic listening or tracer gas to pinpoint the spot before cutting anything open. That order keeps the damage, and the claim, smaller.

Ask for a short written report that says what failed, where, and whether the failure looks sudden. Insurers decide most claims on that paragraph. For a burst that is still running, emergency burst pipe repair and leak repairs are the direct routes. The visit is the £60 call-out at any hour, and the repair price is agreed on site before any work starts.

Stage three: reporting the claim

Policies ask you to report damage as soon as reasonably possible, so ring the claims line as soon as the water is stopped. When you call, have ready the date you found the leak, the cause as far as you know it, the rooms affected, your photos and the plumber’s invoice or report. Write down the claim reference and the name of everyone you speak to.

Describe what you saw rather than guessing at the cause. "Water was coming from the joint on the pipe under the bath when I found it on Tuesday morning" is better than "it must have been leaking for a while", which hands the insurer a gradual-damage refusal. If you do not know how long it had been leaking, say so.

In a leasehold flat the building is usually insured by the freeholder or management company under the lease, so tell the managing agent the same day and ask them to open the claim. Tell the neighbours above and below as well, because the water may have come from their pipes or reached their ceilings.

Stage four: the loss adjuster and the drying out

For anything more than minor damage the insurer usually sends a loss adjuster, or a surveyor from their repair network. They will take moisture readings, confirm the cause, and agree what needs stripping out. Wet plaster, swollen skirting and chipboard flooring are usually removed early so the structure can dry.

Drying is where claims take longest. A specialist firm sets up dehumidifiers and air movers and records readings until the walls and floor reach normal levels. For plaster and timber that is often a few weeks, and longer for solid floors and screed. Keep a meter reading at the start and end, because many insurers will reimburse the electricity the machines used if you ask. Our guide to drying out water damage explains what normal readings look like.

If the home is not fit to live in during this stage, buildings policies usually include alternative accommodation up to a limit. Ask early, and keep receipts for hotels, meals and travel.

Stage five: repairs and settlement

Once the building is dry, the insurer either sends its own contractors to reinstate or offers a cash settlement. A cash offer is often based on what the insurer would pay its own network, which can be less than a local builder will quote, so get your own quote before you accept.

Watch the matching question. If only part of a continuous floor or a run of kitchen units was damaged and the rest cannot be matched, some policies pay for the whole run, and where they do not the Ombudsman often awards about half the cost of the undamaged part. Ask for the insurer’s position in writing before work starts. The excess comes off the final settlement, and the repair to whatever leaked is usually yours to pay.

If the insurer refuses or offers too little

The common reasons for refusal are gradual damage, failed sealant or grout, a property left empty past the policy limit, and late reporting. The failed part, the plumber’s report and your dated photos are what answer each of those.

Complain to the insurer in writing first. They have eight weeks to send a final response. If you disagree with it, or they miss that deadline, you have six months to take the case to the Financial Ombudsman Service, which costs nothing. For what the cover includes in the first place, see water damage insurance: what is actually covered.