24 hr Emergency Callout

Person fixing a pipe

What You Can Expect with Drain Insurance

Blog

We understand that not every homeowner will be familiar with drain insurance. That is why we at Coastal Drains have put together this expert guide on some of the things you should expect from making a claim, including answers to a few questions about drain lines and private systems that may be covered under your insurance policy.

Whether you’ve had an issue with a backed-up outside drain that will need cleaning out so the damage can be dealt with, or need a section of your system replaced entirely once you’ve made your claim, contact us today. We can be there in no time at all to carry out professional work on insurance claims, as well as to tackle the task of getting your drains back to full working order.

Should You Claim for Drainage Problems on Your Home Insurance?

You may wonder to yourself if claiming for drainage problems on your home or buildings insurance is even worth it. After all, once you’ve paid for repairs, it’s highly unlikely that you’ll have to think about it again, right?

Unfortunately, this may not be the case. You should always make a claim on damage caused by drainage problems in your home or business as soon as they happen. This should be done for a couple of reasons:

  • It ensures you’re covered before worse issues develop, if the leak isn’t fully fixed (some providers may not cover larger problems)
  • It prevents larger claims from becoming complicated or delayed in the future

What Does Drain Insurance Cover?

What is individually covered by your drain line insurance will usually depend on which provider you’ve signed on with, as well as a number of other factors. While all will cover basics such as emergencies with burst or collapsed drains, some may not provide full coverage if you live in a block of flats, or if you had reason to suspect that your drains would require maintenance work. Conversely, others may even provide boiler cover and other services.

What if I Have Pitch Fibre Drains?

In most cases, you probably won’t be aware that you have pitch fibre drains until you need them repaired or replaced. Unfortunately, you may also find that many insurance companies will not cover pitch fibre repair work, given that the material is most often associated with older pipes. The material is also famous for collapsing when exposed to outside or external pressure, as well as internal delamination, which often produces large blisters when exposed to cooking fats, oils and hot water. 

If you would like to know if you have pitch fibre drain pipes before any repair work needs to be carried out, we would highly recommend having your drains inspected via a CCTV drain survey. Contact us today if you would like to arrange this service for your property.

Making a Claim on Drain Line Insurance

There are several steps that you should go through, whenever you’re intending to make a claim on your drain insurance. To begin this process, however, you should always ensure that you understand what you are about to go through. By having a read-through of our article on making a successful water leak insurance claim in the UK, you will be preparing yourself for every given situation when you need to contact your provider. This includes ensuring that you’re familiar with several terms they may use when contacting you, as well as the process you’ll need to follow throughout.

For Expert Help and Advice When Making Claims

If you have a property on the South Coast that’s taken water damage from a leak or burst pipe and you’re covered by accidental damage on your home insurance policy, Coastal Drains will be more than ready to help you prepare your claim. Beginning with a fast, accurate CCTV drainage survey that pinpoints the source of the problem, we will then work to provide specialist repairs and cleaning, before getting the report sent to your provider on your behalf. This saves you the worries and stress that often comes with dealing with insurance companies, and lets us take care of the drainage issue in a shorter amount of time.

We’re on call 24 hours a day, 7 days a week, so no matter when your drainage emergency happens, we can be there to help you out right away. Get in touch with us whenever you need help with your drains and we can be there to see you through every stage of the work, from sorting out home and buildings insurance to carrying out repairs and returning your drains (and everyday life) to normal.

Frequently Asked Questions

Do I Really Need Drain Insurance?

We would highly recommend getting drain insurance, if you’d like to be guaranteed peace of mind against frustrations you might suddenly have to face with your property. For example, the flooding potentially caused by a burst or blocked drain pipe, or even problems with private sewer systems such as septic tanks.

Does Home Insurance Cover Collapsed Drains?

Whether your home insurance policy covers collapsed drains may all depend on the company you have signed on with, and how the damage happened in the first place. For example, if the damage happened suddenly and was accidental, your firm is more likely to cover the collapsed drain than if the damage has been caused by wear and tear over many months or years.

This is because, as the property owner, you are responsible for maintaining your internal and external drains. If a section of drain pipe has developed a problem over time, the general consensus from insurance providers is that you will have known about it. You will be expected to provide proof that you didn’t know about it until it was too late.

Is a Blocked Drain Covered by Home or Buildings Insurance?

In many cases, the cost of unblocking or replacing a blocked drain will not actually be covered by home or buildings insurance. Instead, the insurance will cover any damage that might’ve been caused by the blockage itself. This means that you will still have to pay for the obstacle to be removed through expert drain cleaning services.

How Can I Tell Which Drains are Covered by Home Insurance?

To know what your home or buildings insurance will cover, all you need to do is look at the internal and external drain pipes which fall within your property boundary. Those are the drains that are your responsibility to have fixed whenever there is a problem. As such, these are the drains that should be covered by your home insurance; you won’t have to worry about public sewers, or lateral drains that leave your property. These will be taken care of in full by your local water company.

If you own private sewers and outside drains, you will be expected to claim for these using your home insurance.