House insurance flood / water damage claim - to claim or not to claim!

MuffinsDa

In the recent spate of heavy rain (last week), our boiler got damaged due to water ingress. It is positioned near the ground and it seemed that some water somehow got into it and damage the circuit boards. The Boiler guy says it's not worth repairing it.

My house insurance says they will pay for it, and send me a form, but they are categorising it as "flood damage to boiler".

The question is:
I am not sure if it is actually caused by flooding as such, it's more like water excess from gutters splattering into it. I am concerned that if they pay it out as a flood claim it will affect my premium in the years to come and also they may not insure me for flood any more, and onbviously it's not worth it, especially since the house didn't get flooded and there was only a bit of water getting into the boiler. (The boiler is in a little housing attached to the house).

Does anyone have experience with making such claims and have their premium/cover been affected after making a claim?

Should I insist on classifying it as water damage and not flood damage?

Victor

"Rain damage", if thats what it is. Exactly how that would happen is a bit peculiar.

Including some photos and having a written report from the 'boiler guy' would be useful - you may have to pay him for it.

However, are we talking about a boiler that was on its last legs anyway? You might not get the full replacement cost.

The preference these days is for the boiler to be inside the building to reduce heat loss.

DublinDilbert

MuffinsDa wrote: »

In the recent spate of heavy rain (last week), our boiler got damaged due to water ingress. It is positioned near the ground and it seemed that some water somehow got into it and damage the circuit boards. The Boiler guy says it's not worth repairing it.

My house insurance says they will pay for it, and send me a form, but they are categorising it as "flood damage to boiler".

The question is:
I am not sure if it is actually caused by flooding as such, it's more like water excess from gutters splattering into it. I am concerned that if they pay it out as a flood claim it will affect my premium in the years to come and also they may not insure me for flood any more, and onbviously it's not worth it, especially since the house didn't get flooded and there was only a bit of water getting into the boiler. (The boiler is in a little housing attached to the house).

Does anyone have experience with making such claims and have their premium/cover been affected after making a claim?

Should I insist on classifying it as water damage and not flood damage?

Ummm sounds strange to write off the boiler cause of a bit of water on a circuit board. I would image any claim you make risks driving your your premium. When you are making the claim they tell you it won't but next year when you go to renew you'll know all about it

I would get the existing PCB fix, or source one. Then Seal everything up so it doesn't happen again. I hate the attitude "its not worth getting it fixed", cause of a drop of water.

MuffinsDa

Victor wrote: »

"Rain damage", if thats what it is. Exactly how that would happen is a bit peculiar.

Including some photos and having a written report from the 'boiler guy' would be useful - you may have to pay him for it.

However, are we talking about a boiler that was on its last legs anyway? You might not get the full replacement cost.

The preference these days is for the boiler to be inside the building to reduce heat loss.

Thanks Victor, you're spot on with most of what you said.

The boiler is in a housing in a tiny courtyard and it's attached to the main house, so it's a kind of extension/boiler house rather than a full blown outbuilding.

I am not sure how water got there but I suspect the gutters over it could not cope with the amount of rain that day, overfilled, splashed outside and some got through.

I am not sure how old the boiler is, it was there when we bought the house 1.5 years ago and was working fine. It doesn't look ancient.

The boiler guy is happy to provide a report free of charge and he is a very honest a reputable man!

Do you think it will affect my premium/insurability in future though?

MuffinsDa

DublinDilbert wrote: »

Ummm sounds strange to write off the boiler cause of a bit of water on a circuit board. I would image any claim you make risks driving your your premium. When you are making the claim they tell you it won't but next year when you go to renew you'll know all about it

I would get the existing PCB fix, or source one. Then Seal everything up so it doesn't happen again. I hate the attitude "its not worth getting it fixed", cause of a drop of water.

The cost of fixing the PCB and damaged Gas Valve is around 600, and even there is no guarantee that it will be fixed and work well after that. It would be really throwing good money after bad, especially since the boiler is placed in a bad location to begin with and that the technology has improved alot since.

But I agree, it may not be worth making a claim (especially since I have an excess of €750 on my policy!!!)

Richie_c

I can't see it being covered under the home insurance policy, not that it will make a difference if your excess is 750! Your boiler and heating system isn't covered under your home insurance policy

Insurance Works

MuffinsDa wrote: »

In the recent spate of heavy rain (last week), our boiler got damaged due to water ingress. It is positioned near the ground and it seemed that some water somehow got into it and damage the circuit boards. The Boiler guy says it's not worth repairing it.

My house insurance says they will pay for it, and send me a form, but they are categorising it as "flood damage to boiler".

The question is:
I am not sure if it is actually caused by flooding as such, it's more like water excess from gutters splattering into it. I am concerned that if they pay it out as a flood claim it will affect my premium in the years to come and also they may not insure me for flood any more, and onbviously it's not worth it, especially since the house didn't get flooded and there was only a bit of water getting into the boiler. (The boiler is in a little housing attached to the house).

Does anyone have experience with making such claims and have their premium/cover been affected after making a claim?

Should I insist on classifying it as water damage and not flood damage?

A couple of things you should be aware of in this instance. Firstly I can foresee a big clamp down regarding flood cover on property insurance policies in ireland following the floods of October 24th 2011 this came completely out of the blue and the insurance companies will be incurring massive costs because of this, so do not allow that claimed to be logged as a flood damage claim.

Secondly, and I have this discussion with clients quite regularly when it comes to boilers. Insurance is completely 'Black and White' there is no grey and in reality we know that everything in life is not 'Black and White' the plumber or engineer who inspected your boiler would have said that it is not worth repairing, because it may cost you for arguements sake 400 € to replace the damaged circuit board and then due to the age of the boiler some other component could fail very soon. The plumber is very practical and right in what he is advising. It would not be economical to repair your boiler.

Now lets look at it through the eyes of the insurance company, and please bear in mind I work on a daily basis assisting people like yourself in dealing with claims against their insurance company, however the insurance company is the one making the payment so we need to work on the terms of the policy. Your Insurance company will want to know exactly what is wrong with the boiler and what part failed and they will be looking to make payment for that part only, after the cost of such component has been quantified they will then deduct the amount of the policy excess. Which will most likely in your case make the entire claim a worthless excercise for yourself.

Hope this helps !!

Idbatterim

is it oil or gas op? also i take it you own the property? what is the excess?