Top tips to avoid escape of water claims

What was it this time? Kids left the tap on? Pipe burst? Original plumbing finally wore out? The causes vary, but Escape of Water (EOW) is one of the most common claims we handle. In fact, it is so common, you’ve probably dealt with one of these recently.

 As with any significant source of claims, DUAL likes to work together with our Brokers and customers to help avoid EOW happening in the first place. A dripping ceiling or flooded floor is stressful and upsetting for anyone, so we have compiled a list of top tips to reduce the risk. After all, prevention is better than claim. So, share these tips with your clients to help prevent their next disaster at home.

Common causes of Escape of Water

Blocked drains

Blocked drains aren’t just an annoyance – they can cause serious problems. Blockages cause pressure on pipes, and as the pressure increases, seals can start to leak, or pipes can burst.

Burst pipes

The most common cause of all EOW claims: burst pipes can cause enormous damage to a property. The best-known example is when cold weather causes water inside pipes to freeze: the expansion puts pressure on the system and causes pipes to rupture. There are other causes too – blocked drains, badly-fitted pipes that move when water pressure changes, and old pipes that corrode over time can all have the same result.

Leaky fixtures

Lots of our modern appliances are connected to the water mains. Dishwashers, washing machines, radiators and boilers can all leak, and a fault or dodgy pipe in any of them can release a lot of water. Kinks, bulges, or cracks in the piping are the source of a lot of these problems, so it’s important to perform regular checks and maintenance.

DIY accidents

There’s a reason that ‘keen DIYer bursts water pipe’ is a cliché. Whether it’s putting down new floorboards or hanging a painting, a nail in the wrong place can be the cause of a major leak. Simply using a stud finder during home improvement projects will locate pipes and cables in floors and walls, helping to avoid those expensive mistakes.

How to avoid Escape of Water

Once you know the common causes of EOW claims, you can start mitigating them. We recommend that your clients should:

Keep drains and gutters clear

It might be tempting to pour food oil and grease down the sink, but they cause serious blockages. These, along with all those crumbs and bits of leftover food, should be thrown out rather than washed away. It’s not just kitchen sinks that need to be kept clear – removing leaves from gutters and hair from shower drains will keep your pipes happy, too.

Ensure good seals around baths, sinks, and showers

Big dramatic floods aren’t the only cause of water damage in a home. Slow, persistent water in the wrong place can also cause significant problems. Make sure that the sealant around baths, showers and sinks is clean and unbroken to avoid problems with damp, rotten floorboards, or puddles in the wrong places.

Keep pipes warm to stop them freezing

In the winter it can be hard to keep pipes warm – especially in older properties or heritage homes. Adding lagging or insulation to pipes will help protect them from freezing temperatures. Keeping the central heating on low (12 degrees should do it) will also help keep the pipes warm.

Top tip – know where the water main is and how to turn it off. This will help you avoid floods in the first place, and help you reduce the damage if you find one. If you leave your home unattended for any length of time, make sure anyone looking after your property also knows the location of the water main. Some people find it helpful to write this information down and post it inside a kitchen cupboard door.

Holiday disasters

Finding escaped water in your home can be a really upsetting experience – especially if the leak has been going for a while before it is discovered. A burst pipe can dump a bathful of water into your house every half hour, so it’s vital to turn off the water and minimise the damage as quickly as possible.

Imagine a pipe bursting in your client’s home while they are away for their holiday. If the damage starts at the beginning of their 2-week trip, and goes on undetected until they return, as much as 94,000 litres of water could have run through their home. That’s enough to fill 672 baths.

The most effective way to avoid a leak while on holiday is to turn off the water at the mains. Keeping the water off while the house is empty will limit the damage if a leak does occur. Water will still run out of a broken pipe, but only until the system is empty.

A leak detection system will also help identify leaks sooner, reducing the damage and saving beloved possessions from water damage.

At DUAL, we offer full all risks cover on buildings, contents and valuables with no increased Escape of Water excess. And unlike most market coverage, we also offer Trace & Access up to the building’s sums insured so that your clients are not left with the bill for finding and stopping the leak.

For more information contact Kate O’Connor. Kate is the Head of Business Development at DUAL, the world’s largest international MGA. DUAL Private Client specialises, amongst other areas, in high net worth personal insurance in Ireland and are backed by AXA XL, a division of AXA, one of the world’s largest insurance groups.

t: 01 6640001 / e:enquiry@dualgroup.ie

This article was first published in the June edition of Irish Broker Magazine - read the PDF version.