Water damage and insurance: what to photograph, and when

What is usually covered

Most home buildings and contents policies cover escape of water – damage caused by water escaping from fixed water or heating installations. The distinction that catches people out is this:

• The damage caused by the escaping water is generally covered – ceilings, floors, decoration, contents.
• The cost of repairing the failed pipe or component itself is frequently not covered, or is covered only in limited circumstances. Policies vary considerably.
• Gradual damage – a slow leak that has been going on for a long time – is commonly excluded or limited. This is why acting on a slow leak matters for the claim as well as for the building.
• Frozen pipe damage is usually covered, sometimes with conditions about heating an unoccupied property.
• Damage from a leak in a neighbouring property is a different route and may involve their insurer.

Read your own policy wording rather than relying on general statements, including any excess and any conditions about unoccupied properties.

Before you clear up

1. Make it safe firstWater off, electrics isolated where necessary. Safety comes before documentation.
2. Photograph wideWhole-room shots showing the extent. Several angles. It is very hard to convey scale later without these.
3. Photograph closeThe source if you can see it, the damage to surfaces, the affected contents. Include something for scale where it helps.
4. Take videoWalking through the affected area narrating what you see. It captures things stills miss and takes a minute.
5. Photograph the failed componentIn place if possible, before it is removed.
6. Note the time and datePhone photos carry this automatically, which is one reason to use a phone rather than a camera with an unset clock.
7. Then clear upYour policy requires you to mitigate further damage, so containing and drying is expected – after documenting.

What to keep

• The failed component. The split section of pipe, the burst flexible hose, the failed valve. Bag it and label it with the date.
• Damaged contents, until the insurer confirms they do not need to inspect them. Do not skip this – insurers frequently want to see, and disposing of items can affect the claim.
• Samples of damaged flooring or carpet, if you are replacing them.
• All invoices and receipts, for the emergency work, the repair, any drying, and any temporary accommodation.
• A written list of damaged items with approximate ages and values, written while you still remember.
• Any report from whoever attended.

Trace and access

This is the cover most people do not know they have and it is worth understanding.

Trace-and-access cover pays for the cost of finding a hidden leak and repairing the damage caused by getting to it – lifting floors, opening ceilings, chasing walls. Without it, those costs fall on you even where the resulting water damage is covered.

It matters because finding a hidden leak can involve a disproportionate amount of work relative to the repair itself. A leak under a solid floor may take a day to locate and a further day to expose, for a repair that takes twenty minutes.

1. Check whether your policy includes it, and what the limit is. It is commonly a specified sum rather than unlimited.
2. Tell us if you are claiming, so the report is written in a form your insurer will accept – describing what was done to locate the leak, and why.
3. Get the invoice itemised, separating detection, access, repair and making good.
4. Do not authorise extensive exploratory work without checking the cover first.

See leak detection for what locating a hidden leak involves.

Notifying and progressing a claim

• Notify promptly. Most policies require notification within a specified period, and delay can prejudice a claim.
• Ask what you are authorised to do before spending. Emergency work to prevent further damage is normally acceptable; extensive repairs may need approval.
• Keep a log of every call, with dates, names and what was agreed.
• Ask about drying. Professional drying with dehumidifiers and air movers is often arranged and paid for by the insurer, and it is far more effective than opening windows.
• Do not reinstate too early. Putting flooring back over a damp subfloor creates a second, worse problem. Insist on moisture readings before reinstatement.
• Ask about alternative accommodation if the property is genuinely uninhabitable – many policies include it.
• Keep the claim open until everything is genuinely resolved, including any drying and reinstatement.

Reducing the risk of the next one

Insurers increasingly ask about these, and they are worth doing regardless: