Household Insurance

[flappy8]

Hi All,

There are comments around on various sites about some insurers not covering properties that contain plastic plumbing. I’ve never seen such a condition. Is this just urban myth or is there any truth to it? After all many people don’t know what’s under their floor anyway!

 

[cr0ft]

Not sure but I wouldn't be at all suprised if insurers did have that get out clause. All plastic pipe systems rely on rubber o-rings which are the weak point in the systems. It's pretty rare to get a massive uncontrolled leak on a soldered copper system when a joint fails - it tends to be a slow drip at first.

When an o-ring goes on a plastic pipe system it tends to dump all the contents of the system over the property pretty quickly. If it's attached to a mains hot or cold water supply that can be pretty bad as it doesn't stop! I've seen a house completely destroyed by one of them failing. It was an old probate property we got called out to where an o-ring had gone on the riser main in the loft. The neighbour called the solicitor when the water was coming out the front door, by the time we got there the house was wrecked. Looked like something out of aq horror film. Wallpaper hanging off every wall, carpets ruined, floorboards ruined, ceilings collapsed etc.

For this reason we never fit the stuff and if we have to connect onto it we specifically exclude any liability for leaks in our T&Cs.

 

[Ray Stafford]

For the last 10 years +, probably 90%+ of new build houses have had plastic systems in them. If there was any such exclusion, it would be very widely known by now.

I'm not saying that there has never been such a clause, but it certainly isnt widespread.

 

[hammers4spanner]

news builds are in trouble then

insurance companies should void any claims if work is not carried out by qual8fied competent people imo

 

[Best]

And if the gripper inside the plastic fitting doesn't hold, the fitting can push off & you get full bore of the pipe flooding. Also mice, rats etc can chew through the pipes & fittings.

 

[julesverne]

I remember someone posting this on facebook i think it was tom lane

Plumbers warned pressure on push-fit pipes is causing flood of water escape claims -

 

[Millsy 82]

How many installations though are not pressure tested to the correct pressure?

Polypipe used to say that they needed pressurising to something massive like 15bar! (I can't remember the exact figure) so that the grippers actually dug into the pipe holding it tight, if you tried to claim on them they would turn around and say if you can't see where the grippers marked into the pipe they wouldn't pay.

I don't like plastic at all if you run it through a wall even with sleeping you put a slight scratch on it then it's useless.

I do wonder though how many of the insurance claims are down to diyers or jack of all trades?

 

[joni os]

Got one last Xmas. 5 year New Build.
BG had serviced boiler and increased pressure. Householder returns home and finds water running down walls along 20 ft of coving. Bled system down below 1st floor level and returned next day to locate leak.
Guessed pipe runs and cored chipboard, lucky not laminate.
10mm pipe had pulled out of manifold. No tension on pipe, probably faulty installation.
In this case minimal damage. If claim had been expensive then insurance company could have claimed off installer,(latent defect), and installer would not be covered by third party insurance as contract risk insurance would be needed for protection.

 

[hammers4spanner]

18 bar plastic on first fix is the test limit

Had one blow off last year nigh on a year after it had been fitted, tested to 18 bar as well , when i got the floor up couldn't see nothing wrong with it .

Still ends up plumbs fault ,

 

[Stanios]

They will find any way to get out of admiting a faulty push fit fitting. You think those insertion marks on pipe are there to help you? Nope. If your pipe isnt cut on the mark and fitting isnt inserted to the next one your guarantee aint valid..

 

[flappy8]

Thanks all for your replies.