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Your Money > Home Insurance Articles > What s leaking...
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By Sarah Modlock
Drip, drip, drip. The sound of Spring showers. But they are inside your home, not outside. This time of year, when unseasonally warm spells are interspersed with cold snaps, is the peak time for domestic leaks. When temperatures drop below freezing, frozen water within pipes expand, causing the pipe to swell and crack. Once this thaws, water can leak from the cracks, causing considerable damage. Particularly at risk are older properties, generally pre-1960s, where the original roof remains, as they do not benefit from roofing felt beneath the tiles, which, in newer properties, provides a degree of protection against the elements. Where properties have water-pipes which run on top of the loft floor joists, and above the level of any insulating layer, these pipes gain no benefit from the rising heat within the living space below and again, the risk of freezing is increased. One night last year I was woken at 4am by neighbours. Old Victorian pipes had leaked in the roof and water came through the flat upstairs, through my bathroom ceiling and floor and into their flat below. The amount of water that could trickle through in the few hours that I had been asleep was incredible and the damage was extensive. Most of all it was a pain and it's at times like this that you need your insurer to be helpful. When you consider how much water there is sloshing around our homes, it's not surprising that insurers are kept very busy by claims. The annual repair bill for damage caused by leaking water from washing machines, dishwashers, burst water tanks, pipes, showers and baths now hits £1.8 million for the hundreds of thousands of households affected each year, according to research from Halifax Home Insurance. The two biggest culprits for causing water damage in the home are washing machines, which account for damage to more than 5.2 million households and showers. Burst pipes, leaking baths and 'human error' account for 7% of leaks each. Indeed Britons inflict an avoidable £130 million worth of damage each year on themselves simply by forgetting to turn off taps - wasting some 630,000 litres of water every day, a volume which could fill a staggering 7,876 baths or flush 84,018 toilets. Leaking dishwashers caused 3% of damage followed by burst hot tanks (ouch) and cold tanks with 2% each. The cost of putting it right Little wonder that Halifax is urging homeowners to ensure that they regularly check their fixed wet appliances and pipe work for any leaks, and to make sure they always turn taps off after use. Lagging pipes also helps to prevent unexpected bursts from frost damage, as can ensuring that central heating is not left off for any length of time during cold spells. One-in-three homeowners in Britain do not have buildings insurance, says the Halifax. This is a big worry for anyone with water damage, which can be costly to put right, at an average cost of £560 per incident. Water from a burst pipe within a loft space can very quickly cause damage to plaster ceilings, wall plaster, kitchen units, electrical wiring and decoration, as well as carpets, beds, electrical items and other contents within a property. A very unlucky 60,000 homeowners each year face bills in excess of £10,000 after leaking water has devastated their property. "Changing fashions in the housing market have increased the likelihood of homes being damaged by leaking water," explains Martyn Foulds, a Senior Claims Manager at Halifax Home Insurance. "The trend for homes with multiple bathrooms and the current vogue for wet rooms have significantly increased the risk of water leaks and damage in the home. Older properties are vulnerable as a result of corroding pipes, which face increasing strain as Britain endures ever more extreme fluctuations in temperature as a result of global warming. Long working hours in the UK would account for many leaks going undetected for a significant period of time." It's sod's law that these things will happen during the one week you are away. Mr and Mrs Bennett from Bristol returned home from a holiday in the US last May to find all was not as they had left it in their house. During their holiday the stop cock in their water tank had seized up, which was the start of horrendous problems. The water over flowed the tank and ultimately saturated their home. Water cascaded down from the loft and into the bathroom below. Eventually, due to the huge volume of water, the bathroom ceiling gave way. The water then flowed down further floors and damaged the downstairs toilet, kitchen and garage. All carpets and decorating that stood in its path were damaged. Mr Bennett recalls: "It was very bad. We had returned from holiday on a horrendous flight to step into our home which was upside down. Our neighbour checks our house when we are away. She had been in two days before we returned and all seemed fine. We can only guess that all this damage happened within 48 hours." Mr and Mrs Bennett's water leak claim was over £3,000. This included new ceilings, decorating throughout and new carpets. The average claim cost for domestic water leaks has steadily risen year on year over the past five years: Domestic water leak average claimsYear Average claim cost2003 £1,2062004 £1,4222005 £1,7832006 £1,9992007 £2,018Source: Halifax Home Insurance 2008 Average claims costs for frozen pipesYear Average claim cost2003 £1,3412004 £6182005 £1,0892006 £1,2032007 £1,705Source: Halifax Home Insurance 2008 How to avoid water leaks and frozen pipes:
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