Home rsa bank of ireland home insurance claim

miranda192

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I am hoping someone will be able to offer advice. I currently have a leak from a upstairs shower. I bought my home in march of this year and just have noticed a leak, previous owner never mentioned any kind of leak before the sale.

I am insured by rsa via bank of ireland.*
There is quite alot of damage done, i.e joists, ceiling and i think water has some how run under the floor into the room opposite the shower as there now is a moldy smell and as of today mold can seen on furniture. my policy has the wording which excludes the gradual ingressing of water regarding shower leaks. ive only lived in this house 5 months.*I feel due to this its pointless submitting a claim.

just hoping if anyone has had a similar problem could they tell me if a home insurance claim is possible

any help is appreciated.*

Thanks
 
You're right. Unfortunately its pointless. Its excluded from all policies and not something insurers will involved themselves with.
 
is it a leak from seals of the shower tray or from the water supply or the trap itself? Some items like the seals have no cover in any event so its important to identify what exactly is causing the leak. You have being living in the property for 4 months and have only just noticed it so its possible its not an historic item, its also possible of course that the previous owner didn't know about it
 
plumber checked, leak is not from sealant or grout its more the shower pipe /joint. im unclear if this would be classed as wear and tear too, house is around 14 yrs old.
 
will have to phone my insurance later. i am hoping that because I have only recently bought my house and that house surveyor never reported anything wrong prior to the sale that I will not fall into the gradual ingress category of water damage thats if leak from pipe is covered. or do you think that im hoping to much?
 
IF it's gradual ingress it isn't going to make a difference whether it was the previous owners gradual ingress or yours.
 
I think all I can do is try at this point. strangely both my in laws and parents have recently had insurance claims regarding gradual leaks from showers and kitchen tap pipes, luckily for them their policy didn't have the term gradual in it and their kitchens and tiles were all replaced. they live in the north maybe policies are more lacks there.
 
The gradual exclusion relates to water seeping from the defective/deteriorated grouting to the tiles. In the event that water escapes from a shower enclosure due to deterioration of the grouting, the policy exclusion will apply.

If there is a leak from the waste of the shower or a pipe feed to the shower, this should not be excluded. However, the OP will have to show insurers and prove that it is a leak from the pipe which has given rise to the damage.

What complicates this case somewhat is the recent inception. If on investigation, it is determined due to the extent of damage to timber joists etc that the leak predates the inception of the policy, then Insurers may likely advise that they will not deal with the case or alternatively, only contribute a proportion of the cost of the repairs.

Under the Customer Protection Code, the OP can appoint their own regulated Loss Assessor to deal with this claim on their behalf.
 
bottom of joists that run below waste pipe have turned black. I guess that would be to strong of an indication that its been going on awhile.
 
bottom of joists that run below waste pipe have turned black. I guess that would be to strong of an indication that its been going on awhile.

Without inspecting it, it is impossible to know...and even by looking at it, it would likely not be possible to be any way definitive...it may be appropriate for you to exercise your right as a customer in accordance with the central bank Customer Protection Code ( CPC) to appoint your own Regulated Loss Assessor.
 
would the insurers not think I was trying to hide something by doing this and treat my policy more harshly?
 
OP, Claimsman has defined your problem exactly. No Insurance company is going to personalise any person's claim. The fact that RSA have lost a fortune in this country bears little relevance to your claim. I do agree that you are better having a proper loss adjuster to deal with your claim, which in turn will get repairs paid in full (as long as you are covered)
 
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