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‘Escape of Water’ continues to be the most popular claim we deal with at Gullion Ltd.  Ultimately, we’ve found that a small leak can cause the greatest damage as the water usually goes unnoticed for longer and can travel further over time to affect kitchen units, built in furniture, floorboards, electrics and more.  As construction cost consultants we can highlight the full extent of the damage so that you have a clearer picture of the scale of the restoration required and how much it would cost, in money and time, to rectify the situation. 

The cause of many water damage claims are from copper pipes which were installed 25 – 30 years ago however there are occasions when newer plumbing systems also leak due to poor soldering of joints or by localised water corrosion known as pitting corrosion.  For more aggressive levels of corrosion which occurs over a longer time period, the higher the level of acidity in your plumbing system will undoubtedly accelerate the problem.

Apart from flaking paint, swelling tiles, floorboards and skirting, there are a few colour indicators to look out for to identify if it’s only a leak or something more sinister, like corosion.  A blue/green colour coming from your water tap indicates corrosion inside the pipes however if you notice this same colouring on the outside of a pipe then you have a pinhole leak. If the outside of the copper pipes are green then you have leaks, with the possibility of corrosion.  If you see any staining on your fixtures then this would indicate that it is actually corrosion within the pipework. If you see black on your copper pipes, it can mean high suplhur levels or at worst a plumbing pipework system which has been installed using cheap copper which is full of impurities.  This would be costly and require replacing the entire plumbing pipework within the property. 

Those who don’t invest in maintaining their plumbing system and instead repeatedly claim for ‘escape of water’ should consider – will your insurance company continue to pay out again and again and will these claims have a negative impact on your insurance premium? Ultimately the decision rests with the homeowner. 

If your property is damaged, contact Gullion Ltd. We provide a FREE survey and advice within 24 hours of making contact.  As your leading local loss assessor we can help you negotiate the best settlement with your insurance company to ensure that you achieve your full entitlement, under the terms and conditions of your policy.

WE WORK FOR YOU, THE POLICYHOLDER, NOT FOR YOUR INSURANCE COMPANY.

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